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Premiering by surprise at the 2025 New York Film Festival, Marty Supreme quickly set the internet ablaze. Directed solo by Josh Safdie and starring Timothée Chalamet, the film delivers an electric blend of sports chaos and personal redemption. A holiday release is set for December 25, and early reactions suggest it’s poised to be a major cinematic event.
A Safdie at Full Speed
For the first time since his 2008 debut, Josh Safdie steps out without his brother Benny, helming Marty Supreme entirely on his own. It’s a bold move, especially for a film that cost A24 nearly $70 million to produce—the most expensive project they’ve ever backed.
Over the past decade, we’ve come to associate Safdie films with frantic pacing, street-level grit, and characters on the edge. In Marty Supreme, those trademarks are still there, but stretched across a grander canvas: 1950s New York, with all its neon gloss and underground ambition. Safdie doesn’t hold back, and if you’re familiar with the anxiety-inducing brilliance of Uncut Gems, you’ll recognize that same heart-racing rhythm here—but fused now with a timeless sports movie DNA.
As a viewer, you don’t watch this film as much as you get thrown into it. The camera darts like a ping pong ball, fittingly enough, and the editing is as relentless as the emotional arc of its main character. To read Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton face off in 2026’s Apex trailer
A Chalamet Performance Worth the Hype
Timothée Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, a nobody in the world of professional table tennis who claws his way through a storm of setbacks and eccentric adversaries. Chalamet’s already proven he can do sensitive, brooding, and charming. But here, he taps into something faster, funnier, and more unhinged. It’s a performance with no air brakes, and for the first time in a while, I forgot I was watching Chalamet—he disappears into Marty.
His scenes with Odessa A’zion, who plays his quick-witted and similarly damaged confidante, are among the film’s sharpest. She brings bite and soul to every exchange, and it’s no surprise that early critics are calling hers the breakout role of the movie.
The Rest of the Cast & Creative Team
Beyond Chalamet and A’zion, Safdie casts a surprisingly eclectic lineup:
- Gwyneth Paltrow in a cool, composed supporting role
- Tyler Okonma (aka Tyler, the Creator) as a rival with swagger
- Kevin O’Leary and Fran Drescher in surprisingly dramatic turns
- Abel Ferrara showing up as a shady promoter (yes, the director himself)
But just as essential is Daniel Lopatin’s score. If you loved what he did on Uncut Gems, you’ll find a similar pulse here—hypnotic synths that swirl around scenes like adrenaline. Music isn’t just in the background; it’s part of the emotion.
Critical Buzz and Awards Potential
It’s only just premiered, yet the conversation around Marty Supreme already feels bigger than any Josh Safdie project to date. Comparisons to Catch Me If You Can and The Wolf of Wall Street aren’t just flattering—they’re accurate in tone and energy. The film is wild, funny, and often teetering on overwhelming, but it’s also grounded in real ambition. Marty doesn’t just want to win a game—he wants to matter. To read Ranking Shyamalan’s Hits: Which Film Defines His Legacy?
Early buzz places Chalamet firmly in Oscar territory. And though the Academy doesn’t always go for this level of stylistic madness, the sheer force of the direction and emotional commitment from the cast might just break through.
Julien’s take? It’s rare to leave a cinema feeling both exhausted and exhilarated. Marty Supreme might not be for everyone, especially those who prefer their stories more restrained. But if you’re like me, and you believe cinema should make your heart race and your feet tap, this film will have you grinning through the chaos.
A24’s Biggest Gamble Yet
With its Christmas Day release strategically set, A24 is clearly betting big. And in doing so, they’re putting this film in direct competition—not just with other studios, but with themselves. Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine, a Dwayne Johnson-led drama that earned critic love but stumbled at the box office, looms in the background. Marty Supreme seems designed to avoid that fate: louder, wilder, and perhaps more accessible despite its quirks.
If Marty Supreme connects with audiences the way it seems to have with early viewers, 2025 could end with a rare kind of film success—one that’s both artistically bold and widely embraced.
