In Marty Supreme, Marty Mauser goes, as the film’s synopsis reads, through hell and back in pursuit of greatness. It could not be a more apt metaphor for the actor’s own career. Almost a year ago, he sent the internet into a bit of a frenzy with his comments at a SAG Awards acceptance speech, saying he was in pursuit of greatness. This is his first attempt since those comments, and it’s hard not to see Marty Supreme as a self-referential meta-narrative, and brilliantly so.

Marty Supreme Review

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: A Safdie film in which the unlikable protagonist goes on an odyssey through the late night and into some shady situations in pursuit of a goal that seems increasingly less likely to be accomplished as time rolls on. That’s the reductive plot summary of Good Time, Uncut Gems, and now Marty Supreme.

This time, Josh Safdie, on his own after splitting with brother Benny, perfects the formula. Instead of the seedy criminal underworld of New York or the underbelly of the illegal gambling scene in the same town, Marty Mauser is much more of a globetrotter than Howard Ratner or Connie Nikas. And of course, the table tennis scene is not nearly as seedy.

In making these key changes, Safdie is able to make this film the most relatable of the three. It’s a whole lot easier to root for Mauser because his goal isn’t dangerous or illegal. It’s a goal many of us have had for ourselves, and it’s a goal that many pro athletes we adore have all the time. The world adored Michael Jordan, and Mauser is setting out to be his sport’s Jordan here in Marty Supreme.

More accurately, the world loved Tiger Woods, and Woods helped put golf on the map, just as Mauser is trying to do with ping pong in the United States. The film does not kid the audience, though; Mauser is a narcissistic, selfish, conceited, arrogant, and rude character. We’re not supposed to root for him, just like we weren’t supposed to root for Ratner or Nikas.

What makes it so hard not to root for Mauser is the seemingly noble nature of his goal, the lack of illicit behavior (mostly), and the sheer lengths he’s willing to go to in order to be the greatest. You could take those character attributes and assign them to any great athlete, and this could act as a potential biopic for them. Greatness requires personal sacrifice, and those willing to make those offerings are going to share a lot of personality traits with Mauser.

What ties that all together and helps make Mauser even more difficult to root against is a titanic performance by Timothee Chalamet. In his first film since declaring his own pursuit of greatness, he perfectly embodies Mauser on his journey in Marty Supreme, bringing humor and depth to the character that few others could do. As wonderful as Adam Sandler and Robert Pattinson were in their respective Safdie films, they’re not quite Chalamet here.

The one thing Chalamet doesn’t infuse Mauser with is much humanity. The only time we see him act like a real person with an ounce of care for anyone else in his life is after he’s reached his goal. Well, he fell short of the ultimate goal, but he was able to achieve one crucial thing, and it’s only at that point does he begin to open his eyes to literally anyone else around him.

It’s a pretty steep departure for the actor. Even when playing less-than-stellar characters (like in Dune, Beautiful Boy, A Complete Unknown), there’s a level of goodness. There’s pretty much none of that. The only positive attribute Mauser really has is that he’s exceptional at table tennis. But even that has its negatives, as it is the reason for his unabashed hubris and undying desire to win at all costs.

This is Chalamet’s starring vehicle. Everyone else largely steps aside to put him front and center for the vast majority of the runtime. From a filmmaking standpoint, this makes sense. Gwyneth Paltrow is good. Odessa A’Zion is good. Even Kevin O’Leary is surprisingly decent for a stunt cast. They’re just not remotely the star of the movie, and that’s just fine.

From a narrative standpoint, this is a pretty brilliant decision. It functions as a metaphor for how Mauser himself views these other characters. They only come into the movie when Marty needs something from them, and as soon as he’s done using them or has what he needs from them, they fade back out.

It also works as a sports reference. Table tennis is an individual sport most of the time, and it is for the entirety of Marty Supreme. But, going back to the Michael Jordan reference, the film is essentially calling an iso for Chalamet. Everyone’s clearing out and letting him go to work one-on-one to break down his defender, and Chalamet scores with ease.

The pacing is breakneck, moving so fast that the movie is almost over much sooner than you want. It’s two and a half hours, but it doesn’t feel like it. The score is strong, always pushing things forward and adding a light layer of tension. It’s not as tense as Uncut Gems or Good Time, but that’s fine because the stakes aren’t as high. It’s not life or death, which kind of makes it a little more enjoyable.

Conclusion

Sometimes, it doesn’t matter how good you do in film. Timothee Chalamet had two performances in 2024 deserving of the Oscar for Best Actor, and to be frank, he probably should’ve had that award by now. Marty Supreme is his unashamed, all-out pursuit of that, and it will be really difficult to deny him this time. It’s on-brand and very meta, but the performance is otherworldly. On his shoulders this entire movie rests, and though slim in frame both in the movie and in real life, Chalamet lifts it with impressive strength.

Score: 4.5/5