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“Dream Big” has been the tagline for Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme since the film began its promotion. The multicolored jackets quickly took the internet by storm. Timothée Chalamet’s impassioned speech about greatness during his SAG Award win for A Complete Unknown gave audiences a taste of the ambition he was bringing to his new role as Marty Mauser. Together, he, Safdie, and a star-studded cast and crew, bring their magic to Marty Supreme, creating one of the most anxiety-inducing and entertaining films of the year.

Everyone in their lives has known a person like Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet). Although the film is loosely based on the life of table tennis champion Marty Reisman, the story feels universal to anyone trying to make it in the world. Safdie introduces the young table tennis star in 1950s New York while he’s working a job that he himself admits won’t be his thing for long—spending his time selling shoes to little old ladies, saving up enough money to secure a spot for his future. Marty has a mindset of winning at any cost, even if it means taking advantage of those he cares about—a trait Safdie injects into the film rather quickly. Living in a cramped apartment with his mother, in a building packed with tenants, this is where Marty dreams of his future as the best table tennis player in the world.

Getting to his first tournament overseas isn’t as easy as Marty expects, having to fight tooth and nail to get his money for the trip, which he believes he won’t be returning from. Failure never enters the mind of the young athlete; he’s spent nights in sweaty back rooms perfecting his game, mentioning to those he comes into contact with that this tournament is his ticket out of here. His entire life is consumed by table tennis, and even before he officially leaves for his big opportunity, he declares that someday his face will adorn a Wheaties box. Although his trip doesn’t completely go as planned, Marty makes an impression for better or for worse.

There’s no moment of Marty Supreme where the film isn’t entertaining; Safdie places Marty in some outright laugh-out-loud scenarios, each one becoming more ridiculous than the other, but showing how desperate Marty is to succeed. He teeters a fine line between being swoon-worthily charming and a downright wreck. There’s plenty of runtime to explore the highs, the lows, and each plateau of bad decisions that Marty makes along the way, and even when Marty chooses to do something that viewers might disagree with, Safdie sticks to his choices. He’s not asking the audience to agree with any of it but to stay along for the ride to see it through.

The life that Marty envisions for himself is having enough money to get his mother Rebecca Mauser (Fran Drescher), who sleeps in his bed while he’s gone, set up in a luxurious home, and him being a household name. Anything less than this would be a failure in his eyes, but when Safdie shows glimpses into Marty’s life outside of striving for greatness, it shows a young man who is deeply loved. His room shows his youth, with his mother taking good care of it while he’s gone. Trophies litter the walls, and her joy when she sees an alternative future for him is beautiful. His uncle, who gives him his salesman job, sees leadership potential in him and has high hopes Marty will run his store someday.

Having the life of a star athlete isn’t something that just happens overnight, but in Marty’s world, he expects star treatment the moment he arrives at his first tournament. There’s no doubt that Marty has the skills to be the best, but his ego and overall attitude do not do him any favors. Many of his opponents have endured moments of grounding in their lives or have had to struggle in unimaginable ways. Either dealing with the loss of hearing or surviving a genocide, it makes it hard to root for Marty when he’s on the opposite side of the table. But Marty expects respect instantly; just because he has the talent doesn’t mean he has what it takes to be number one. No amount of begging, pleading, and chasing makes up for his lack of humility. His journey from the first moment to his final scene is frustratingly captivating.

Chalamet’s performance, as hyperbolic as it sounds, is the best he’s ever done, and in a sea of performances of his to choose from, it’s the most electric he’s ever been. Each word from Marty’s mouth is completely believable because it feels so seamlessly Chalamet; the best-of-the-best attitude works because of how one-to-one it feels to its actor. It’s a character that could only be played by Chalamet, and it proves why he’s a movie star. His charisma is only part of the appeal of Marty; his dedication to those long back-and-forths during his matches is intoxicating to watch, with some being complete nail-biters. His ability to play a character that makes you want to root for him while shaking your head in disagreement with his choices makes Marty Supreme so easily watchable.

The praiseworthy performances don’t stop with the film’s lead, nor is the well-rounded arc Marty goes through just a perk of being the main character. Something worth shining a large spotlight on is how Marty Supreme handles its female characters, giving them their own stories that are fleshed out to have compelling arcs of their own. And although there’s only a few women in Marty’s life, each one of them teaches him important lessons on measuring success. Sometimes success is having a family surrounding you, sometimes it’s the forgotten sound of applause, and sometimes it’s leaving a bad situation. Each lesson learned from the women in his life shapes Marty in ways that, even during the moments he might not see, turn him into the person he becomes.

No matter the amount of screentime, the supporting cast makes their mark, Rachel Mizler (Odessa A’Zion), the bright-eyed young woman after Marty’s heart, being at the top of the list. Her character, who goes from a quiet pet shop employee to a dog-napping sidekick, is exhilarating; there’s not a moment in Marty Supreme where I wasn’t rooting for her and Marty against all odds. A’Zion is just as enthralling to watch as Chalamet; her feelings bring Marty back to the ground. On the other hand, Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow) is a woman of maturity, covered from head to toe in luxury. An aging actress that still has passion to give, and it’s incredibly refreshing to see Paltrow in a film with some substance for her. She carries her character with an inflated confidence that easily falls apart; she plays the role with a whole lot of sympathy. Their characters are the most important to Marty’s arc, and without them the film wouldn’t be as impactful.

Safdie is at his most confident as a filmmaker with Marty Supreme; it’s felt in each and every choice on screen. He has a tremendous ability to play into the film’s comedic moments while also making sure they don’t overshadow scenes of high intensity. He places just enough challenges in front of Marty to make audiences wonder if, placed in his shoes, what they would do. Choosing to show the sports action not just through incredibly well-crafted table tennis matches, but also running through the packed streets of New York, he directs with an electricity that jumps off the screen. Each scene is packed with energy, and Safdie has managed to make a sports film that is not only supremely riveting, but also pretty sexy as well.

It’s hard not to bop along with the film’s score from Daniel Lopatin, and it’s at its best during the film’s final match. It’s intense and hard to ignore, not that you’d even want to. It evokes feelings of the ’80s, even when the film takes place decades prior, and it works well with the film’s overall dated aesthetic. Paired with the Darius Khondji cinematography, the film is a complete audio and visual panic attack—complimentary, of course. It truly captures what is going through the mind of Marty. Khondji’s use of lighting and shadows creates a realistic environment that makes Marty’s work seem identical to ours, showcasing a cramped life through the lens that widens as Marty embarks on his journey to greatness.

Overall, Marty Supreme is at the top of the list of what 2025 films have to offer. Its lead performance is one for the history books, with Chalamet adding yet another legendary role to his roster. Safdie crafts a sports drama that not only feels like a shot with the chaser being another shot, but a story of the cost of striving for greatness.

Rating: 5/5

Marty Supreme releases on Christmas Day!

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