MOVIE SCENE CANADA
MARTY SUPREME
​I Elevation Pictures I December 25, 2025 I 150 mins. I
.png)
95%
* As of 12/2/25
CAST:
Timothée Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A'zion, Kevin O'Leary, Tyler Okonma, Abel Ferrara, Fran Drescher
DIRECTOR(S):
Josh Safdie
Marty Mauser, a young man with a dream no one respects, goes to hell and back in pursuit of greatness.
REVIEW BY: Darren Zakus - 12/2/25
RATING 3.5 out of 5
Marty Supreme is a cinematic rush of adrenaline that delivers a chaotic journey in search of greatness that only Josh Safdie could create, but it is the stellar lead performance of Timothée Chalamet with a mega-watt presence that lights up the screen in one of the best performances of the year that allows the film to deliver non-stop entertainment.
Even before he said that he wants “to be one of the greats,” audiences knew that Timothée Chalamet was an actor of that calibre, after countless stellar performances in films like A Complete Unknown, Dune, Wonka, and Call Me By Your Name. Chalamet has proven himself one of the most versatile actors of his generation, from epic blockbusters, nostalgia driven musicals, and compelling awards features, showcasing an immense talent where no challenge was too great for him. It seems only fitting that his next film has him portraying a young man, wanting to become the greatest ping pong player in the world, but that is where the similarities between Chalamet and Marty Mauser end. Under the direction of Josh Safdie, in his first film he has ever made without his brother, Chalamet delivers a magnificent performance as Safdie orchestrates a pulsating symphony of chaos that will have audiences on the edge of their seat in one of the most original and stressful films of the year.
Chasing a dream and desiring greatness in life is something that any viewer can relate too, and that is the hook that invests the audience in Marty Supreme and the titular character’s story. While chaotic and overstimulating by design, Safdie guides the film with his direction and editing to ensure a propulsive experience from start to finish as the audience is alongside Marty as he goes to extreme lengths to come up with the money to attend the ping pong world championship tournament. From lost dogs, violent gangsters, to the greedy, despicable and power hungry upper class who control the world, there is no shortage of outrageous moments that cause genuine laughter one second before making your skin crawl with an unease or hanging off the edge of your seat holding your breath wondering if Marty is going to achieve his dream the next. Daniel Lopatin’s kinetic musical score helps to create the frantic pacing and chaos of the film with a propulsive cacophony of sound and electronic stylings, matching Safdie’s chaotic storytelling at every second. The film itself does slump in its pacing in the elongated middle act, which juggles many different narrative threads that feel like they will never reach their conclusion after some false endings to each storyline, which may frustrate some viewers. But, this pacing misstep never sinks the film, because by the time Marty reaches his destination in the third act and is forced to reckon with everything he has done to get there and what the true purpose of his life is, it results in a fitting conclusion to a cinematic odyssey that lands the right emotional notes to have viewers exiting the theatre on an absolute high.
It is not a matter of if Chalamet will win an Academy Award, but a matter of when and for which performance. And his time could very well be coming now with his excellent performance in Marty Supreme. With an infectious, fast talking wit and uncontrollable energy, Chalamet lights up the screen as Marty goes to extreme lengths to fulfill his dream of becoming the best ping pong player in the world. Never sugar coating his character’s abrasive personality or self-centered attitude, Chalamet allows the audience to root for Marty despite all the qualities to the character that are off-putting to say the least, creating a true underdog with the world against him with a scrappy fight to achieve his dreams no matter the cost. Though, it is in his final scenes on screen where Marty is forced to reconcile everything he has done and the wreckage in his wake with the notion that everything is actually not about him, Chalamet finds a fragility and beauty in his performance that not only delivers one of the most moving and unforgettable final scenes of the entire year, but has that lasting impression on viewers of the sheer might of his performance that could very well be the answer to him winning his first Academy Award. It’s a daring and provocative performance, similar to Mikey Madison’s last year in Anora, that confirms that Chalamet is one of the best actors working and is destined to be one of the greats for anyone who had any doubts about him.
Though there are only a few minutes of the film in which Chalamet is not front and centre, his luminous performance can not reach the magnificent heights it does without the supporting cast. Marking her return to acting after a five year long break apart from two small voice performances, Gwyneth Paltrow is alluring as Kay Stone, the actress who catches Marty’s eye and sees something exciting in him to break up the monotony of her regular life. With an undeniable indifference to the consequences of her actions or the effects they have on Marty, Paltrow is both calculating and seductive, leading to some charged moments with Chalamet as these two talented actors go head to head. Every film needs a good villain, and Kevin O’Leary is exactly that as Kay’s husband Milton Rockwell. Downright despicable, vile and illustrating everything wrong with the incredibly wealthy men who run the world and can do anything they want, there is a powerful chill that goes down your spine when O’Leary is on screen. While Marty himself is no saint, O’Leary is repulsive while on screen as he gives a thoughtless indifference to his fellow man as Rockwell, who is treating Marty like a piece of meat for his own personal gain. Though it is Odessa A’zion who is having her breakout moment as Rachel Mizler, Marty’s childhood friend who is helplessly in love with him despite him showing no sign of real interest in her. Matching Chalamet’s fast paced delivery of dialogue with a larger than life presence that makes her an undeniable force while on screen, A’zion becomes a brilliant partner for Chalamet as the two of them explore their characters’ complicated friendship as they both leave a destructive path of chaos in their wake.
There is so much to admire about Marty Supreme, as it delivers a cinematic experience that is as stress inducing as it is wildly hilarious, which is something very few other films can claim to have done this year. Even with pacing issues that make its second act feel endless, Josh Safdie conjures up a truly exhilarating experience that is shocking, riveting, deeply human in the aspirations of Marty Mauser’s dreams, even if his actions are not; but above all else entertaining, creating an incredibly strong film to act as a vehicle for the unrivaled talent of Timothée Chalamet. With a tour de force lead performance from Timothée Chalamet that lights up the screen in the most bombastic way possible, that just happens to be one of the best performances of the year, Marty Supreme rides that high for all its worth as audiences go to hell and back, chasing the dream of greatness alongside the titular character, in one of the wildest, most intoxicating and electrifying films of the year.