Table tennis balls are raining, emotions are boiling – Josh Safdie’s “Marty Supreme” captivates you and doesn’t let you go long after the cinema. Chalamet more convincing than ever.
From February 26, 2026, director Josh Safdie will present his latest work “Marty Supreme” to the general public on screens in Germany. It is his solo directorial debut and the first project he has undertaken since the creative separation from his brother Bennie Safdie. With Timothée Chalamet he was able to cast the most sought-after actor of his generation for the role of table tennis madman Marty Mauser. Ever since the main actor’s press tour, “Marty Supreme” has been on everyone’s lips and the film has been hotly anticipated. Everyone wanted a piece of Marty, Tom Brady and the Jenners showed up in Marty Supreme jackets and all attention was focused on the flick. But was the effort worth it, and does “Marty Supreme” deliver the breathtaking three-set game it promises?
It’s initially surprising and turns out to be a sports film that isn’t actually a sports film. Josh Safdie literally lets Timothée Chalamet off the leash and takes a risk with a wild mix of genres. It quickly becomes clear: he hits the mark. On the surface, it’s just about a table tennis tournament, but at its heart it’s about so much more – Marty Mauser’s turbulent journey is peppered with refreshing absurdities, thrilling, a rollercoaster of emotions, and leaves you staring spellbound at the screen and not letting go straight away after going to the cinema. Beyond the plot, the film makes you think about what’s really important in life, and then you realize: Josh Safdie’s solo debut is a big hit.
From shoe salesman to world champion?
In New York in 1952, young Marty Mauser works in a shoe store. He has neither money nor a sense of responsibility nor a little respect for his fellow human beings. What he does have, however, is the dream of becoming the greatest table tennis player in the world – and the talent necessary to fulfill it. Full of self-confidence, charismatic and cheeky, he makes it to the second most important tournament in the world in London. He does well, but doesn’t achieve his goal. Back home he tasted blood, the World Cup in Japan should be the next step. But without money and with a lot of bad behavior on the scoreboard, it turns out to be not that easy to get there.
Meanwhile, his private life is completely turned upside down, and through sometimes more and sometimes less clever behavior, he gets entangled in one misery after the next: He gets involved in the loveless and cold marriage of a billionaire and an actress or tries to find a lost dog. So he sets out on an odyssey, which is sometimes characterized by painful absurdities, in order to achieve his big goal, the world championship. During this time he always has to ask himself the question of whether he should take on responsibility or continue his ruthless pursuit of success and recognition.
Timothée Chalamet with a career-best performance and a convincing cast
The film impresses with an outstanding cast. Timothée Chalamet leads the way; he carries the film from minute one. The special thing about his performance is that, on the one hand, he sends the character Marty Mauser on a journey, but above all he sends the audience on one of the emotions. But one thing at a time: The 30-year-old embodies one thing above all in this film – iron will. Marty Mauser is willing to do anything and make any sacrifices along the way. At the beginning he has everything under control and always has his counterpart wrapped around his finger – you want to admire him. But he is cheeky, disrespectful and doesn’t care about his fellow human beings, so much so that you don’t want to begrudge him victory in the game. As a result, the event slips away from him and he is sent on an ordeal full of setbacks. In his playing, Timothée Chalamet unpacks the entire range of emotions: anger, despair, joy and love. All the while, he pushes the character forward and develops him, almost to the point where you end up wanting to like Marty Mauser. Without question, this is a career best and arguably the best by an actor in 2025.
However, it’s not just the main actor who carries this film. Odessa A’zion is particularly convincing. She plays Rachel Mizler, a character who will have a hard time proving herself in this turbulent chaos from the start. But above all, she is a true fighter. Odessa A’zion embodies a person who is not afraid to lie and dig in the dirt in order to survive in the harsh New York of the 50s. She always maintains a coolness and demonstrates strength that impresses. Her eyes are a main part of her expressive game – you regularly want to lose yourself in her gaze and literally sink into it. So it will be interesting to see what we will see from her in the future. A woman who has come to stay.
The main trio of the cast is completed by musician Tyler, the Creator. You get the feeling that Josh Safdie was just telling him, “Just be Tyler and do your thing!” The rapper radiates a pleasant warmth, and when he laughs, you just want to laugh along.
Another important figure, especially for Marty Mauser, is Kay Stone. The wife of an extremely rich and thoroughly unsympathetic entrepreneur and an actress who has already seen her best days behind her. She seems bitter, distant and sometimes cold, but has moments in which a certain fire flares up within her. Gwyneth Paltrow delivers all of this in a rock-solid and believable way, but in “Marty Supreme” you can still tell that she only belongs to the second tier of actresses in her generation.
A rain of orange table tennis balls
“Marty Supreme” simply delivers. The script in particular impresses with its razor-sharp dialogue that gets to the heart of every situation. Marty Mausers regularly upsets his counterpart, especially in the first act. The outstanding thing about the dialogues by Josh Safdie and Ronald Bronstein is that they are structured like a table tennis game: the characters pass the conversation ball back and forth to each other in quick succession – a fresh and creative approach that always creates tension between the dialogue partners.
The film is also technically well shot and impresses with a mix of fast and calm camera angles and movements. It’s not a camera revolution, and “Marty Supreme” doesn’t reinvent the wheel. Nevertheless, the film is able to create beautiful images time and time again. In particular, a scene in which it rains orange table tennis balls should stay in your head as a visually beautiful homage to the chaotic nature of the protagonist.
In which category “Marty Supreme” has to be considered a favorite at the Oscars is the soundtrack. This is simply breathtaking and draws the audience into the action in an irresistible way. The sounds make you merge with the action and – especially when things get emotional – you are completely absorbed. Sometimes with modern electronic sounds, sometimes with absolute song classics like “Forever Young” – the musical selection works consistently.
More satire than anything else
Can a film about a table tennis game be interesting? Given the fact that table tennis is far from being one of the most popular and most watched sports in the world and that there is no really well-known sports film about table tennis, one could quickly come to the answer no. But “Marty Supreme” is so interesting because it doesn’t want to be a sports film. With its clever mix of genres, a satire is created under the umbrella of the sports topic, which only becomes really good thanks to its dramatic touches. There is so much more covered here than sports. It’s about ambition, bitter disappointment and how to deal with it, but above all it’s a study about taking responsibility and what is ultimately really important in human existence.
These topics are conveyed partly with humor and partly with consistent seriousness. So Josh Safdie’s first solo effort is worth watching – a great film with an even greater leading man to watch out for this awards season.
