After one of the most widespread and influential movie marketing campaigns in recent memory, Marty Supreme released on Christmas day 2025. Like many of director Josh Safdie’s other films, Marty Supreme follows a morally corrupt protagonist trying to overcome personal challenges. In this case, we follow Marty Mauser, a poor kid from the Lower East Side in Manhattan who dreams of becoming the world’s greatest table tennis player. 

The story of Marty Supreme is loosely based on the real life tennis player Marty Reisman who was known for his flamboyant personality and represented the United States in table tennis around the world. He was also known in New York table tennis communities for being a scammer and would often swindle people.

These elements of the real Marty Reisman are the primary connection between him and Marty Mauser. As the movie progresses, we watch Marty Reisman scam every person in his life and use them for personal gain. Whether it is his own friend Dion or his own mother, Marty stops at nothing to achieve greatness.

The character of Marty Mauser is complex. He is a selfish, arrogant and lying scammer. Yet, audiences still walk away unsure of whether or not to like him. This is in part due to Safdie’s writing, but Timothée Chalamet makes Mauser come to life. Somehow, after coming off an award season powerhouse performance in A Complete Unknown, Chalamet still managed to raise the bar in Marty Supreme. Despite being one of the most prominent actors working today, he manages to disappear inside the role and truly become Mauser.

The film is filled with great performances. Another standout is the work of Tyler, The Creator who plays Wally, Marty’s best friend. Even though this film was his acting debut, he does not look out of place among Chalamet and their chemistry is electric. Shockingly, businessman and shark tank star Kevin O’Leary brought the mean Mr. Rockwell to life and acted as a great antagonistic force opposite to Chalamet.

One element of the film that seems to have slipped under the radar is the film’s soundtrack. “Forever Young” by Alphaville is now forever connected to the opening scene and title card in the minds of audiences. During the credits of the film, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears permeates through the sounds of the babies screaming and crying from the final scene. All of these songs are unremovable from the scenes they accompany and are a pivotal part of the emotional weight of certain scenes.

Overall, Safdie paints a very interesting portrait with Marty Supreme. The first 30 minutes appear like any regular sports movie, but, after Marty’s loss in Britain, the film devolves into a convoluted story about pride, friendship, love and success. Marty Mauser is definitely far from perfect but his never ending drive for success is enough for audiences to still cheer him on when he eventually returns to Japan.

Marty Supreme and Timothée Chalamet are sure to be award season favorites and could easily be considered the movie and performance of the year.