‘Marty Supreme’ pursues greatness — and succeeds

By Alfie Eville

When directing duo Benny and Josh Safdie split up in 2024, a lot of their fans were patiently waiting for each of their first solo projects. Benny Safdie released his movie, “The Smashing Machine,” in October 2025 to mixed reviews. In comparison to his critically-acclaimed films that he made alongside his brother, it was a bit of a letdown. Two months later, on Christmas, Josh Safdie would put out “Marty Supreme.” 

For about a month, it was nigh on impossible to avoid advertisements for this movie, with Timothée Chalamet going on one of the greatest social media marketing runs in history. Be it the “‘Marty Supreme’ jacket” or the Vegas Sphere turning into a giant “Marty Supreme”-branded ping pong ball, or even that giant orange blimp flying over America! Typically, I reserve my ratings for just the film, but the marketing alone deserves five stars.  

The movie follows Marty Mauser, played by Chalamet, as he tries to climb his way to the top of table tennis. Per every Safdie movie ever, the number of trials and tribulations he faces in this movie is enough to give anyone a headache. From his relationships falling through, to him being tight on money or getting himself into dangerous situations; you never truly feel like Mauser is safe. I think that is the beauty of a Safdie movie. Unlike most studio blockbusters, it is typical for the main character to triumph and survive. In “Marty Supreme,” safety is never once guaranteed, and that lends to some seriously good storytelling.  

The constant uncertainty and anxiety that defines “Marty Supreme” are among the film’s greatest strengths, but they are only a small part of why it works as well as it does. Much of the film’s success rests on Chalamet, who delivers what is easily the strongest performance of his career. While the “Dune” films were able to showcase his range, “Marty Supreme” demands something different: obsession, arrogance and an unmatched drive for greatness. Chalamet gives Mauser a manic intensity; impossible to ignore, especially at times when he is deeply unlikeable. Chalamet does not feel the need to soften his performance to derive sympathy from the audience, because he understands the character too well. Mauser does not care about what others think in the film; his sole purpose lies within himself. Mauser’s flaws are fully committed to, and in doing so, it makes him such a compelling main character to watch. 

The surrounding cast around Chalamet also deserves major credit. Odessa A’zion had a breakout performance here and will have a lasting place in cinema for years to come. Additionally, Gwyneth Paltrow is great in her few scenes, and the way she bounces off Mauser’s young, irrational worldview is engaging to see. Kevin O’Leary, weirdly enough, delivers a great performance, too. I saw a few people complain that he was bland, but I disagree, as he was such a great foil to Mauser’s character. Really, all of these side characters were written to bounce off Mauser, and they do that so perfectly in the end product. 

I also must give a hand to how well-written this movie is. I cannot praise the pacing enough, for being two and a half hours; it genuinely feels like it is only 90 minutes in total. I saw this film three times in the span of about three weeks, and was worried it would get stale or boring, but it did not. The movie managed to stay interesting and engaging the whole way through, which is  difficult for a movie of its length and grandiosity to accomplish. 

“Marty Supreme” is a lot of things — but boiled down, it is a story about greatness, about the pursuit of greatness. What it means to be “great,” and what it takes to achieve such status. Mauser is many things. A good person? Not really, but he is driven. He goes about proving himself in all the absurd ways possible, most of which being rather morally questionable. He puts his life on the line, travels across the world, gambles his relationships and his money, all just to silence the doubters and show that he is one of the best table tennis players. There is nothing stopping me from saying that in the end, he does indeed prove that. To an extent, I think Mauser is one of my favorite characters ever written and despite being morally detestable, I loved watching him in this movie. “Marty Supreme” is a five-star film, and one of my personal favorites ever released. For that, it is leagues above every other movie released in 2025 and is without a doubt my pick for winning the Best Picture category at the Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars.

Alfie Eville is a freshman history and secondary education major