Dream Big, Lose Bigger: The Chaotic Soul of "Marty Supreme"

[the following review is spoiler-free]

For the past few weeks, one title has been downright inescapable in public life. From bus benches to billboards to blimps, the bright orange advertisements of A24 and Josh Safdie's Marty Supreme have decorated cities across America, making sure absolutely nobody forgot that Timotheé Chalamet was leading a new project and that it was coming out on Christmas Day. So far it seems like all of this extremely heavy marketing has been money well spent, causing the film to have the single most profitable opening weekend in A24 history. With titles like Sinners, One Battle After Another, Weapons, and countless others, 2025 has been a downright banner year for original American films, and it's refreshing to see a non-franchise/reboot/blockbuster film get so much attention outside of the regular film-bro audience. With 2026 just a week away is Marty Supreme a worthy film to close out the past year? Or is it simply all bark and no bite?

The past ten years has seen a plethora of new talent make their film debuts. Over the past decade the newest generation of movie stars have taken their place among the A-list, but it's difficult to think of one who has made more of an impact than Timotheé Chalamet. Since his breakout role in Luca Guadagnino's Call Me By Your Name in 2017, Chalamet has been at the forefront of some of the past decade's most talked-about films. Over the course of his career he has worked with legendary directors such as Christopher Nolan, Wes Anderson, James Mangold, Denis Villeneuve, Greta Gerwig, and more. Which is insane considering he only turned thirty yesterday, the 27th of December, 2025.

Marty Supreme is the third film where Chalamet has served as producer, after 2022's Bones and All and 2024's A Complete Unknown. While he has produced before, Chalamet has been especially passionate when it comes to promoting Marty Supreme. It's clear that this project was far more than another job to him, this is a film that he truly believes in, and I can't blame him. In a true buzzer-beater finish, Marty Supreme is one of the best films of 2025.

Marty Supreme follows the chaotic life of braggadocios, table tennis player, Marty Mauser (Chalamet), whose ambitions far outweigh his current station in life. Over the course of the film audiences watch as Marty fall short of his dream of becoming world table tennis champion, eventually learning how to swallow his pride and realize what is truly important in life. The film also stars the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A'Zion, and Fran Drescher, while including some truly out-of-left-field cast members like David Mamet, Isaac Mizrahi, Tyler The Creator, and the first acting role of Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary. If that sounds like an unorthodox cast sheet to you, you're not alone. Marty Supreme has one of the most insane, random casts I have seen in a long time, but each player gives a stellar performance. From the veterans to the newcomers, everyone fits in great. The scenes shared between Timotheé Chalamet and Tyler The Creator feel less like a scripted film and more like a camera pointing at two lifelong friends interacting as they normally would. They have such palpable onscreen chemistry, it's hard to believe this is the first time they've worked together, let's hope it's not the last time.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, the crown jewel of this film is Timotheé Chalamet's lead performance as Marty Mauser. Chalamet disappears into this role, playing Mauser with a downright inhuman amount of charisma. There is not a single dull moment with him on screen, he is such a dynamic, entertaining performer that it's hard to keep your eyes off him. Special kudos are also owed to makeup team, Stella Sensel and Michael Fontaine who implore genius, subtle touches to make Chalamet completely transform, giving him rough, imperfect skin dotted with scars and imperfections so well-done, you'd think Chalamet was born with them.

But no great performance comes out of a vacuum. One of the biggest contributors to Chalamet's dynamic, mesmerizing performance as Marty Mauser is due to the direction of Josh Safdie. It's surprising that the two have never worked together before because this duo is truly a match made in heaven and I hope they collaborate much more in the future. It's safe to say that the race for Best Actor this winter just got a whole lot tighter...

Aside from Chalamet's lead performance, one of the biggest standouts of Marty Supreme is the original score by Daniel Lopatin, who also composed the Safdie Brothers last two films: Uncut Gems and Good Time. Lopatin is an artist who wears his influences on his sleeve, and it's abundantly clear to a film nerd like myself what he was trying to emulate on his latest score: the work of Wendy Carlos. Marty Supreme has a very synth heavy score mostly consisting of brief, futuristic-sounding songs that feel like a mix between Challengers and A Clockwork Orange. To me, anything that has to do with synth pioneer Wendy Carlos is a triumph.

The script by Josh Safdie and Ronald Bronstein is tight, inspired, and will surely be a contender for Best Original Screenplay. Above all, this film feels like a character study, with each scene written to further advance Marty Mauser's personal journey from arrogant, obnoxious asshole to a more functional, humble human being. But despite being insufferable for the majority of this film, Chalamet's performance is packed with so much charm that it's easy to see why the people in his life overlook his flaws so consistently. I'm sure to the surprise of many, there is considerably less table tennis in this film than you'd think, taking up the minority of the overall story. Without spoiling anything, audiences will find the last, lingering shot to be particularly moving and packed with quiet meaning. It certainly solidified my faith in Timotheé Chalamet to take home that Oscar.

Unfortunately, despite all of Marty Supreme's strengths, it is not without fault. Coming in at 150 minutes, the film feels a tad too long on more than one occasion. So much time is dedicated to showing the titular character down on his luck that after a while it feels redundant. There has also been some confusion as to what exactly Marty Supreme is trying to tell its audience. Dream big? Believe in second chances? Accept domesticity? Mostly, I'll chalk this up to poor media literacy as its clear to me that this film is trying to say: "swallow your pride and try to look beyond just yourself."

Marty Supreme neither has a flawless message nor execution, but it is no doubt one of the finest films of 2025. After an extremely successful opening weekend and being the current talk of the town, it's certain that this is a film audiences will be talking about long after its left theaters. It is a career high for both Josh Safdie and Timotheé Chalamet and hopefully its triumphant success implores studios to take a chance on new, original film. As this year comes to a close and 2026 approaches, remember keep in mind what's really important but never stop dreaming big.