Marty Supreme (2025)
Marty Mauser, a young man with a dream no one respects, goes to hell and back in pursuit of greatness.
directed by: Josh Safdie
written by: Josh Safdie, Ronald Bronstein
starring: Timothée Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A’zion…
Without a single doubt in my mind, Marty Supreme is in the category of top 2 movies I’ve seen this year, rivalled only by Ryan Coogler’s Sinners (2025).
From the powerful opening, to the heartfelt ending, Marty Supreme had me locked in. It was the ideal combination of intensity, plot and innovativity that I like in my movies. The opening, although slapping you in the face with a sex scene right off the bat, featured microscopic shots of sperm cells racing to fertilise an egg, with Alphaville’s Forever Young playing in the back. I know that some people might refer to stuff like that as “weird”, but that’s the creativity that I enjoying watching on the big screen.
The score, along with the soundtrack was simply sublime, pairing and almost contrasting with the 1950’s New York setting surprisingly well. This, coupled with the shot selection, especially those during the table tennis tournament, made for some moments that I will for sure be studying for years to come.
Timothée Chalamet’s been killing it in the game over the past few years. I loved him in A Complete Unknown, although he truly stepped it up for this one. I could feel Marty Mauser’s hunger for success through the screen, and may I dare say, he even inspired me a tad to want to get up strive for greatness myself. Characters on a pursuit of something larger than life seems to be a recent trend of the characters that Chalamet is choosing to play. I’m excited to see to what project he’s looking to undertake next.
A massive shoutout to Tyler Okonma, who killed it in his feature-film debut as Marty’s almost as mischevious sidekick. The post-hustle car dance scene will be stuck in my mind for months to come. Also, to Odessa A’zion for threading the needle by playing a character that somehow managed to match Marty’s drive and ambition, whilst still remaining likeable despite her many clear flaws. And how could I forget Gwyneth Paltrow, coming out of retirement play a character who elevated the film with only her presence alone.
However, all props have to go to Josh Safdie for creating a movie that had me gagging to go to the cinema to watch it as soon as it came out. Will it hit as hard watching it a second time, knowing how everything is going to ultimately play out? Potentially, but I guess only time will tell.