Marty Supreme Review: What Makes This 2025 Film So Polarizing?
Marty Supreme Review: What Makes This 2025 Film So Polarizing?
Few films in 2025 have sparked as much debate as Marty Supreme, Josh Safdie's frenetic exploration of ambition and ego. The film follows Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet), a twenty-three-year-old salesman at a New York shoe store who dreams of becoming the world's greatest table tennis champion. Marty Supreme is loosely based on the table-tennis hustler and champion Marty Reisman, who died in 2012, at the age of eighty-two. This Marty Supreme review examines why critics remain split on whether the film offers an immersive character study or empty thrills. From the polarizing Marty Supreme Rotten Tomatoes scores to questions about who is Marty Supreme and the real person behind the character, I'll break down what makes this film so divisive, including Chalamet's transformation, Safdie's hyper-kinetic direction, and the controversial themes that have audiences equally mesmerized and frustrated.
The Film's Frenetic Style and Josh Safdie's Direction
A Visual and Audio Assault: The '50s Through a '70s and '80s Lens
Safdie approaches the 1950s setting with zero interest in nostalgia. Working with cinematographer Darius Khondji (who also shot Uncut Gems), the visual strategy creates what Khondji calls an "anthropological study" of Marty's obsessive drive. The film marries vintage photographic textures with a modern emotional pulse driven by Daniel Lopatin's electronic score and 1980s needle drops from Tears for Fears and Public Image Ltd.. This temporal collision gives Marty Supreme a strength and modernity that period pieces typically avoid.
Khondji's technical choices push beyond standard coverage. The team frequently used 65mm, 75mm, and 100mm anamorphic lenses even for wider compositions, whereas typical anamorphic wide shots might utilize 40mm or 50mm glass. This aggressive long-lens approach minimizes depth of field and forces a subjective point of view, mimicking how the human eye focuses on specific interactions while blurring the periphery. In other words, the story is told by faces.
Safdie obsessed over imperfection. He directed every department toward one question: what would this feel like in real life, destroyed by real life? He became fixated on the garbage on the street, recognizing that most films just crumple paper and throw it on the floor, but that's not what garbage is. Every department studied a 1954 documentary of Orchard Street by Ken Jacobs. Extras developed their own narratives. In one walking scene, a blonde woman Chalamet passes had been told she'd had a massive fight with her husband and wouldn't cook dinner out of spite. She's so inside her head that she doesn't realize someone's passed her, capturing a quintessential New York moment.
Comparisons to Uncut Gems and the Safdie Brothers' Signature Style
The similarities run deep. Both films feature grimy New York settings, Lopatin's vaporwave soundtracks, surreal computer-animated opening sequences swimming through internal anatomy, and wildly eclectic supporting casts mixing professional and non-professional actors. Khondji's off-kilter cinematography creates relentless, fast-paced editing that makes viewers feel like they're in the protagonist's shoes. Watching Marty Supreme feels like Uncut Gems multiplied by 10.
Yet Marty Supreme marks Safdie's first solo feature since 2008, making it arguably the most hyped movie of the moment. No small feat given that the story roots itself in the high-stakes drama of ping pong.
The Hyper-Kinetic Filmmaking Approach That Divides Audiences
Sound editor Skip Lievsay describes the experience as "a good mugging". The film operates as an action movie with dialog instead of gunshots, rapid-fire and full of material. Safdie works with an urgency and obsession that's exceptional. He shoots with multiple cameras, moving fast, with no rehearsals because he loves what happens in the moment. The result: a pressure cooker where things are compacted, compressed, and the storytelling is torrid. The pace blazes.
This approach splits audiences. Some find the immersive intensity exhilarating. Others feel assaulted by the nonstop sensory overload and question whether the frenetic style serves the story or simply exhausts viewers.
Timothée Chalamet's Career-Defining Performance as Marty Mauser
Who Is Marty Supreme: The Real Person Behind the Character
Chalamet's Marty Mauser draws inspiration from Marty "The Needle" Reisman, who won 22 major titles throughout his life and died in 2012 of heart and lung complications. Born February 1, 1930, in Manhattan, Reisman became the city junior champion at age 13. His father was a cab driver, bookmaker, and compulsive gambler. The film captures broad strokes of his life while creating its own narrative engine.
Reisman started playing at age 9 following a nervous breakdown. He hustled at Lawrence's Broadway Table Tennis Club, sometimes betting as much as $500. His signature trick involved breaking a cigarette in half from across the table with a ball, which he performed on The Tonight Show in 1975 and Letterman in 2008. At 67, he became the oldest national champion in any racket sport by winning the 1997 U.S. National Hardbat Championship.
From Nebbish to Narcissist: Chalamet's Physical Transformation
Chalamet underwent a complete metamorphosis. Special effects designer Mike Fontaine created five prosthetics: two acne-scarred cheek pieces and three others covered with nicks and faded scars. The makeup was so convincing that Gwyneth Paltrow thought his rough skin was real.
Makeup designer Kyra Panchenko hand-laid additional hair onto Chalamet's eyebrows and drew a unibrow, making them twice their normal size. He wore vision-restricting contact lenses requiring thick +6-prescription glasses that made his eyes look smaller and more beady. His wispy mustache remained imperfectly patchy, incorporating Chalamet's natural facial hair growth. Hair department head Kay Georgiou cut his hair into a 1950s fade, using thinning shears and barbering techniques.
The Ping-Pong Prodigy's Confidence as Currency
Chalamet called Marty Supreme "probably my best performance" in a since-deleted interview. He added that after seven or eight years of "really, really committed, top-of-the-line performances," he needed to say it out loud because "the discipline and the work ethic I'm bringing to these things, I don't want people to take for granted".
This mirrors his character's approach. Marty weaponizes personality as armor, specifically because "when you're from New York and you grow up in a box, your personality is all you have". The character believes confidence supersedes physical appearance: "It's all attitude, man. I don't give a fuck. I'm the best table tennis player in the world".
Why Some Find Him Mesmerizing While Others Find Him Insufferable
Critics remain split. Some describe Chalamet as delivering "one of his best performances to date" in an "off-kilter character study". Others find the character "insufferable with a punchable face" despite acknowledging Chalamet "plays him perfectly".
The character compulsively lies, commits theft, and disregards those close to him. He tells Rachel she can't understand his pressure because she doesn't have "a special destiny to be fulfilled". He sacrifices humanity for glory, joining the ranks of Jay Gatsby in carelessly sacrificing others. Despite his problematic compass, Safdie invites audiences to champion his quest. The result: viewers simultaneously root for him and feel disappointed by his choices, as if he were real.
Supporting Cast and the Controversial Casting Choices
Gwyneth Paltrow and Odessa A'zion: The Women in Marty's Life
Paltrow's return marks her first major screen role after years focused on Goop, playing Kay Stone, a retired Hollywood star trapped in a loveless marriage to Milton Rockwell. Her quiet sadness and risky spirit add emotional weight opposite Chalamet's bravado. A'zion plays Rachel Mizler, Marty's childhood friend stuck in an abusive marriage who becomes his accomplice. Casting director Jennifer Venditti initially passed on A'zion after a Zoom meeting, but reconsidered after seeing her audition tape, recognizing her "punkish vulnerability". The role became A'zion's breakout, earning Actor Awards and New York Film Critics Online nominations. Notably, A'zion recently exited another A24 film, Deep Cuts, amid backlash for accepting a half-Mexican character role despite having no Mexican heritage.
Kevin O'Leary and the Celebrity Cameo Strategy
O'Leary delivers the film's most audacious casting choice. Safdie flew to the Shark Tank investor's home to pursue him for Milton Rockwell. O'Leary actively shaped the character, telling Safdie, "If I was Milton Rockwell, 52, a billionaire, richest man in America, I wouldn't say that. I would say this". In one intense scene shot at 4 a.m., O'Leary paddled Chalamet so many times "his ass went red, and had the imprint of the paddle on it". O'Leary even supplied his own vintage Patek Philippe and Seiko watches rather than accept replicas.
Tyler, The Creator, Abel Ferrara, and Non-Professional Actors
Safdie wrote Wally specifically for Tyler, recognizing his timeless face and natural charisma. Abel Ferrara plays gangster Ezra Mishkin, bringing gritty authenticity from his own filmmaking background. The film features around 140 non-actors, including French highwire artist Philippe Petit. Venditti's casting philosophy: find people who tell stories naturally rather than asking them to shapeshift.
Critical Reception: Why Marty Supreme Rotten Tomatoes Reviews Are Split
The Immersive Experience vs. Lack of Critical Perspective Debate
Marty Supreme debuted with a 96% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes, later certified fresh at 95%. The film grossed $58 million worldwide within weeks, surpassing Uncut Gems and becoming one of A24's highest-grossing films. It received Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Director, and Actor.
However, critics remain divided. One reviewer adored it, finding its "fastness and looseness a thrill and tension that makes the rollercoaster of Uncut Gems feel like a more sedate fairground ride". In contrast, others call it "effective as a wild trip" but "an immersive experience, not an analysis of its self-adoring antihero," arguing the manic quality undercuts "the possibility of a much-needed critical perspective".
Empty Thrills or Meaningful Character Study?
Some critics dismiss the film as "all chaotic joyless bluster" through "the selfish actions of a greedy man". Another reviewer finds it lacks emotional core, describing it as "shallow self-congratulation for American moxie at the expense of everyone and everything around us".
Conversely, supporters view it as "one of the best depictions of the American Dream, in all its gilded highs and grotesque lows". The film presents Marty as "a walking contradiction, an egotistical man with undeniable ping-pong talent who moves through the world as if it were already tailored to him". His character development "made the movie worth watching," with one critic noting that "just as Marty hits the emotional peak watching his baby calm at the sight of him, the conclusion of his arc hits like a truck".
Toxic Masculinity, Jewish Identity, and American Ambition Themes
The film explores toxic masculinity through Marty's treatment of relationships. He constantly prioritizes his ambition over people, particularly Rachel, who "continues to put herself in dangerous situations to support him while pregnant". His success is measured by "attention, money, and control," with vulnerability treated as weakness.
Jewish identity sparked intense debate. Some viewers criticized the portrayal as reinforcing stereotypes, with one stating the character was "greedy, self-centered and absorbed, cut-throat, sexually immoral, and completely driven and obsessed with money and fame". Others defend it as "one of the great Jewish movies, an unapologetic depiction of the Jewish American experience in all of its complications".
Generational divides emerged. Gen Z resonates with Marty's "rare and raw energy of I-don't-give-a-fckness in terms of making it no matter what," seeing him as embodying hope to "break out of their social-media/algorithm induced awkward/inward zones". Older viewers found the film troubling, particularly its treatment of Holocaust memory as "esthetic material" rather than meaningful engagement.
The Ending: Triumph of Narcissism or Genuine Growth?
The ending divides audiences sharply. Marty weeps at the hospital after finally beating Endo in an exhibition match and meeting his newborn child. Director Josh Safdie explained: "that feeling when I met my first daughter, it was a cosmic feeling. You're reminded that it's not about you. I think the movie is about change and about how dreams are probably the strongest agents of change. Having a kid is like one dream had to end so the other one could begin. It's seeing him actually go from boy to man".
Critics interpret this moment differently. Some see "tears of joy" and genuine transformation, believing Marty finds peace and readiness for fatherhood. Others view it as "despair," recognizing his win over Endo was meaningless (an exhibition, not the tournament), he's made powerful enemies, and "he never wanted to be a family man". One reviewer notes the ending "felt unearned," describing it as "a sudden, last-ditch attempt at revering something more grounded and communal" after spending the runtime "revering one great man's thrilling pursuit of exceptionalism".
The ambiguity remains intentional. The film refuses to offer easy moral clarity, leaving audiences to question their own values while "rooting for what's objectively the wrong cause".
Conclusion
Marty Supreme stands as 2025's most divisive cinematic experience. Whether you find Chalamet's performance mesmerizing or insufferable, Safdie's direction exhilarating or exhausting, the film demands a reaction. In effect, that's precisely the point. The ending offers no easy answers, and neither does the film itself. You'll either embrace its chaotic energy and moral ambiguity or reject it entirely. At any rate, you won't forget the experience.
