'Marty Supreme' is a fast-paced and chaotic return to form for Josh Safdie

Josh Safdie is famous for his chaotic and fast-paced collaborations with his brother such as Good Time (2017) and Uncut Gems (2019). Since then, Josh and Benny Safdie have decided to pursue solo directorial careers. His brother, Benny, has since focused on more emotional character-driven projects such as The Smashing Machine (2025). Josh Safdie once said in a 2024 interview, "I think someone who’s hustling is largely independent because they’re saying I’m going to operate within the space and try to carve out my own path. Anyone who wants to walk their own path is heroic to me. They’re winners even when they don’t win, and I’ve always been really interested in that." Marty Supreme shows a renewed devotion from Safdie to creative characters that obsessively struggle against the grain of society and morals.

I loved Good Time and Uncut Gems, so I approached this film with an apprehensive excitement that overcame my disinterest in ping pong. However, I was wary that in trying to capture the lightning-in-a-bottle that was Uncut Gems, that Safdie would rehash the same themes and characters that we've seen before. I had faith that Timothée Chalamet would shine in this role, as he has an uncanny ability to bring morally questionable characters to life (such as in Dune and A Complete Unknown).

Marty Supreme begins with a young Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet) working in a shoe store, run by his uncle. His uncle wants him to become a manager of the store and earn a steady, traditional living, but Marty has dreams of making a name for himself as a professional table tennis player. Marty is all-in on winning at the upcoming British Open. Marty has an affair with his married childhood friend, Rachel Mizler (Odessa A'zion) in one of the most visually insane opening sequences, before we move to London where Marty is hustling to make a name for himself. There is a lot depending on Marty’s success in London. He went so far as to get investors that depend on his victory and even stole from his uncle's shoe store for the funds to get to London. However, at the British Open, Marty suffers a devastating loss to the Japanese Koto Endo in the finals. The rest of the movie is a mad hustle for Marty to rebuild himself out of this loss, never compromising on his vision of what success means to him, and never holding anything too holy to sacrifice in the pursuit of that dream. The setbacks that Marty faces in his struggle to achieve a final victory move rapidly in directions that could have never been foreseen.

Stylistically, the movie is phenomenal. The rapid cuts and unpredictable manner of editing lead to a constant feeling of anxiety and excitement throughout the runtime. Personally, I loved the 1980s pop needle-drops throughout. There was one scene featuring a New Order song that I had to watch on repeat. One might expect there to be some disconnect between the 1950s setting and the 1980s music, but it worked surprisingly well. Additionally, the performances from Chalamet, A’Zion, and O’Leary were great, with O’Leary’s acting being particularly impressive considering he doesn’t share the same acting background as his co-stars.

The film is bound together by Marty's mad effort to achieve greatness in his sport. The story features constant absurd setbacks for Marty. Any rational person would have surrendered their dream and taken a more conventional route after facing even one of the setbacks we see. However, Marty is relentless in his determination to achieve greatness. Additionally, Marty is the only person that can define what greatness means to himself. To many, becoming the manager of a shoe store and being able to support a family that loves you would be a fulfillment of a dream. Not Marty, though. Marty wants glory that can only be reached in a bout of sweat, grunting, and the rapid parabolas of a plastic white sphere. No one else respects Marty's dream. At this point in history, table tennis wasn't as established a sport as is it is today. Additionally, Marty wasn't even pursuing this dream out of financial motivation. Marty wanted glory and recognition in an unconventional manner. He wanted to achieve his dream just to show everyone else that he could, not because anyone thought his dream was admirable. And he was willing to give everything up in the pursuit of this dream. It isn't until the end of the movie that Marty realizes how much he almost gave up in the pursuit. It's in these final moments that we see a real catharsis in Marty as he ponders his legacy and how much others were willing to sacrifice for him.

I'd consider Marty Supreme to be a resounding success for Safdie's first solo project. My concerns that themes would be rehashed from previous films were quelled. Marty Supreme distinguishes itself as a unique look at a determined character that refuses to conform to society’s vision of success. We see a character willing to burn every bridge, to sacrifice everything, for a glory that only he can define. This is different from Uncut Gems’ investigation into the constant gamble and game of catch-up. Overall, Marty Supreme is an exhilarating film with unique characters and a star cast. It promises 150 minutes of elevated heart-rate and a cathartic conclusion.