By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
"MARTY SUPREME"--TIMOTHEE CHALAMET SERVES SWAGGER, SOUL, AND SPIN
Timothee Chalamet just won't quit. And why should he? After being flat-out robbed (yes, I said it) of the "Best Actor" Oscar for his transformative performance as Bob Dylan in last year's superb biopic "A Complete Unknown," Chalamet returns in peak form with the sports dramady
"Marty Supreme," once again proving he's one of the most fearless actors of his generation.
Directed and co-written by
Josh Safdie ("Uncut Gems," "Adam Sandler: Love You") and screenwriter
Ronald Bronstein, "Marty Supreme" is loosely inspired by the life of real-world table tennis legend
Marty Reisman, the 1958 and 1960 U.S. Men's Singles Champion and the 1997 U.S. hardbat champion. Safdie and Bronstein use Reisman's life as a jumping-off point, crafting a film that's less a straight biopic and more a character-driven fever dream about ambition, ego, and the high cost of wanting it all.
Chalamet plays
Marty Mauser, a brash, cocky, and relentlessly driven table tennis phenom from New York who is hellbent on becoming the greatest player in the world. Marty craves fame, money, and validation, and he's willing to bend--if not outright break--every moral line to get there.
He's obnoxious, impulsive, and deeply flawed, yet impossible to look away from. That contradiction is where Chalamet thrives, bringing an intoxicating mix of swagger, desperation, and vulnerability to the role.
Marty's charm proves just as dangerous as his talent. He's juggling two married women: Rachel Mizler (Odessa A'zion, TV's "I Love LA"), a shoe store employee and his emotional anchor, and Kay Stone (a dynamite Gwyneth Paltrow, "Miracle on 74th Street"), a glamorous, wealthy former actress suffocating in boredom with her powerful businessman husband, Milton (a terrific Kevin O'Leary, TV's "Shark Tank"). In true Marty fashion, he even manages to convince Milton that he's the next big thing and that investing in him is a winning bet.
That belief sends Marty from New York to London for an international tournament, where he's swiftly and humiliatingly outclassed by the masterful Koto Endo (Koto Kawaguchi, debut), who shows him what real greatness looks like.
Bruised but not broken, Marty refuses to accept defeat. He shamelessly pushes Milton to sponsor a rematch with Endo--strings very much attached--while his personal life begins to unravel. When Rachel reveals she's pregnant, the stakes rise dramatically, forcing Marty to confront responsibilities he's spent his life dodging.
The film takes an even darker turn when Marty and his cab-driver friend Tyler Okonma (played with surprising ease by Tyler, The Creator) become entangled with a volatile thug named Ezra Mishkin (Abel Ferrara, "Turn in the Wound") and his menacing dog, sending Marty's already chaotic world spiraling further out of control.
What makes Marty Supreme work so well is its tonal balance. Safdie balances absurdity and tension with equal confidence, crafting sequences that are funny, nerve-racking, and occasionally uncomfortable in the best possible way.
The film moves with jittery momentum, mirroring Marty's restless mind and unchecked ego, while the table tennis matches themselves are shot with visceral intensity, less sport, more street fight.
Every performance here is sharp and committed, but Chalamet is undeniably supreme. He brings reckless energy, magnetic confidence, and surprising emotional depth to Marty, making a deeply unlikable character strangely compelling.
"Marty Supreme" isn't just a sports movie. It's a character study about obsession, masculinity, and the hollow promise of success when it’s chased at any cost.
Bold, funny, and bruising, the film confirms that Timothee Chalamet isn't just playing great roles, he's defining them.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays now at 5:17 p.m. and 6:47 p.m. on radio station KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM.
Watch This Trailer For
"MARTY SUPREME"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), The American Film Institute (AFI), and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
