None of us can refrain from the fact that when we heard Josh Safdie was making his return to solo filmmaking, it created a whirlpool of unknown possibilities. Because it honestly feels like someone finally cut the brake lines on his creativity, and Marty Supreme is the wild, pulsing result. For anyone who thought Uncut Gems was the peak of Safdie’s success, this film immediately proves otherwise, because the tension here doesn’t just rattle us; it makes sure to clamp onto you and refuses to let go.
And right at the center of this cinematic drama is Timothée Chalamet, delivering a performance so charged and magnetic that it instantly ranks among his best in recent years. Playing Marty Mouser, he leans into every manic edge of the table-tennis player, making him irresistible even when he is making choices that should send every sensible person running. But that is the thrill of Hollywood after all, and Chalamet tapping into that reckless scrappiness is making us root for his character. Who is doing absolutely everything wrong while somehow making things work?
Josh Safdie turns Marty Reisman’s legend into an ’80s tragedy powered by mythic ambition
The story reimagines the real-life table tennis hustler Marty Reisman, but Safdie spins it into an ’80s tragedy with the energy of a Greek myth. We watch Marty barely dodge a dead-end future as a shoe salesman, only after stealing the wages he is owed. He somehow catapulted himself into a London tournament, where ego and ambition hit him harder than any opponent.
His affair with Gwyneth Paltrow’s Kay Stone adds another messed-up layer, especially because she plays the fading movie star with an effortless mix of glamour and exhaustion. Just two people colliding more out of restlessness than romance, and Paltrow grounds every moment with a sharp honesty.
When we see how Marty eventually loses to a Japanese player with an unconventional stroke, the humiliation sends him spiraling back home, where his problems only multiply. His childhood friend Rachel, played by Odessa A’zion, is pregnant and insistent that he is the father, while the cops are closing in on him for the burglary. And in an act of pure desperation, he seeks help from Kay’s husband, Kevin O’Leary, unexpectedly brilliant as Milton Rockwell.
And honestly, when we talk about what really pushes Marty Supreme into standout territory, though, is Safdie’s sensory world. Daniel Lopatin’s synth-heavy score and the film’s gritty blue-collar New York setting carry a hue from the beauty of Once Upon a Time in America. Everything feels sweaty, cramped, and alive, and Safdie never eases up, and the result is a film that doesn’t just deliver. It ensures that we are overwhelmed in the most exhilarating way.
