Marty Supreme

I’ve always admired people who are truly great at something. The amount of time, discipline, and obsession it takes to reach that level is honestly hard for me to wrap my head around. I’m sure some people are born with natural gifts that make the path a little easier, along with personality traits that help them push through. For me, though, all I can really do is admire those who manage to reach that kind of greatness.

Josh Safdie’s new film, Marty Supreme, is about one of those people—or at least someone chasing it. Marty is just a guy who happens to be incredibly gifted at ping pong, even if the rest of his life is a complete mess.

Marty (Timothée Chalamet) has one dream: to become the world champion in ping pong. He’s convinced that his moment will come when he travels to London for the World Championships. To scrape together the money for the trip, Marty works at his uncle’s shoe store. Marty sees the job as temporary; his uncle very much does not. Still, Marty isn’t the kind of person to let an opportunity slip by, so he makes his move and gets himself to the championship—only to come up short and lose to the reigning champion.

Even in defeat, Marty gains something. He meets Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow), a former movie star who is now essentially a trophy wife to a very wealthy man. Kay is drawn to Marty’s confidence and recklessness, and the two become involved. Meanwhile, Marty sets his sights on Japan for another shot at the title—but real life keeps getting in the way.

And Marty’s life is chaos. He’s always broke, he’s gotten a married woman named Rachel (Odessa A’zion) pregnant, and she wants a future with him. Marty, however, wants only one thing: to be the best in the world, no matter the cost or who gets hurt along the way.

Written by Josh Safdie and Ronald Bronstein, Marty Supreme has the bones of a sports drama, but it’s really something far more unpredictable. It’s the kind of movie that’s hard to take your eyes off. There’s a rhythm to it—almost a pulse—that carries you through the film, making it consistently gripping and wildly entertaining. It’s a full-on roller coaster, constantly surprising, and somehow manages to be both hilarious and emotionally sharp at the same time.

At its core, Marty Supreme is a character study. Even though it’s set in the 1950s and recreated in painstaking detail, it feels completely modern. The film is loaded with chaotic energy, but it’s beautifully controlled. It can be nerve-wracking at times, but the payoff is absolutely worth it. Over its 149-minute runtime, the movie puts Marty through the wringer—and honestly, he earns it. Marty is not a good person, and the film never pretends otherwise.

Chalamet is phenomenal here. He’s funny, cocky, unpredictable, and often infuriating, and you can’t help but shake your head at the choices Marty keeps making. Chalamet is fully committed to the role, and watching him is a thrill from start to finish. He’s not alone, either. Marty Supreme is very much an ensemble piece, with strong supporting turns from Gwyneth Paltrow, Fran Drescher, Tyler, the Creator, and Kevin O’Leary, all of whom help bring this world to life.

This is near-flawless storytelling, with technical execution that’s operating at an incredibly high level. Everything just clicks. And while Marty Supreme gives us a deeply unlikable lead character, it also delivers one of the best films of the year—which feels like more than a fair trade if you ask me.