Last week, we at the A-List were given the opportunity to attend a press screening for the new A24 film “Marty Supreme,” the latest film from writer/director Josh Safdie, and his second without his brother Benny Safdie (who wrote and directed “The Smashing Machine” from earlier this year).

“Marty Supreme” follows Marty Mauser, a 23-year-old from New York who aspires to be the first table tennis champion from the United States. The film follows Marty in 1952 as he balances life, making money, and his ultimate goal of being the world table tennis champ.

The film stars Timothée Chalamet as Marty Mauser, Gwyneth Paltrow as Kay Stone, Odessa A'zion as Rachel Mizler, Kevin O'Leary as Milton Rockwell, and Tyler Okonma (Tyler, the Creator) as Wally. “Marty Supreme” releases in theaters on Christmas Day. With all that put out of the way, let's get to the review!

Spencer: Josh Safdie is back and better than ever. In his first feature-length film without his brother Benny since 2008, Josh has proved that he is indeed the brother with all the sauce. In “Marty Supreme,” Safdie creates a chaotic, claustrophobic, absolutely bonkers world that grabs you from the beginning and refuses to let go.

It’s hard to talk about the film without acknowledging Chalamet’s career-defining performance. Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, a cocky 23-year-old who believes he has a god-given purpose: playing table tennis.

He is arrogant, reckless, and seems to care little for anyone else in his life. He takes advantage of those around him, steals from those who trust him, and treats them like they are lesser than him, all with the ultimate goal of being the greatest table tennis player in the world.

Yet, despite his flaws, Marty is someone the audience wants to see succeed. He is a determined figure, someone who would stop at nothing to achieve greatness, and it is a commendable goal; but it is the way that Marty goes about achieving his goal that makes him such a polarizing character.

It is arguably Chalamet’s most outstanding performance yet, and I believe he’s going to be the frontrunner for Best Actor at the Oscars.

Kevin O’Leary is a surprising bright spot in the film, especially as a non-actor. He takes his “Shark Tank” personality and turns it up to 100. He is a ruthless, unsympathetic capitalist who only cares about his bottom line, and O’Leary plays the character perfectly.

Another surprise performance comes from Tyler Okonma, better known as Tyler, the Creator. Despite his previous experience doing sketch comedy, I wasn’t so sure Okonma would actually be a good performer. But he took my doubts and threw them out the window with his performance.

Though he’s only in the film for a short time, Okonma portrays Willy as a blue-collar man just trying to make ends meet to provide for his family. Yet, Willy is also daring and willing to risk himself for his friends.

Josh Safdie has this ability to get the most out of his actors, and he loves to use actors who have distinct looks and are not known for their acting skills, similar to what the Coen brothers like to do. It’s one thing to make a great film with tons of famous actors; it’s another to make an amazing film with mostly unknowns or inexperienced actors, which is what makes “Marty Supreme” even more impressive.

The film uses Jewish identity in America post-WWII as a vehicle to show the immense progress of the Jewish people after the holocaust and the success of Jews who immigrated to America.

The evolution of the United States as a global superpower during that time is also a key element of the film. Japan, just seven years post Hiroshima and Nagasaki, is where the Table Tennis Championship is set to be played.

Marty embodies the American mindset of the time: “Have unwavering confidence in yourself and never take no for an answer.”

Marty is supremely confident in his ping pong abilities, despite everyone else around him telling him to settle down and be an adult. When issues arise, Marty doesn’t lie down and roll over; he takes the bull by the horns and makes it happen, even if he has to climb over those around him to make it happen.

The film is interspersed with an '80s soundtrack that, surprisingly, does not take away from the '50s setting. The needle drop for Tears for Fears “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” is one of the greatest in cinematic history (you’ll understand what I mean when you see it), and the other ‘80s hits complement the fast-paced movement of the film.

Speaking of fast-paced, this movie speeds through its 2-hour 30-minute runtime like nothing.

Similar to the Safdies’ last film, “Uncut Gems,” the story moves at a rapid pace, as wrenches are continuously thrown into Marty’s plans, and Marty is forced to adapt and make decisions on the fly, often resulting in even more chaos.

The characters yell over each other constantly, the camera forces the audience into claustrophobic close-ups and moments of pure panic, and Daniel Lopatin’s synth-heavy score drives the chaos forward.

Just as in “Uncut Gems,” Safdie creates an insane world that goes far beyond the film. He is one of the rare few who can make the audience genuinely feel panicked and actually leave people on the edge of their seats until the very end.

“Marty Supreme” is my favorite film of 2025, and I don’t think it’s close (though “One Battle After Another” must be acknowledged). Josh Safdie has brought us one of the great pieces of cinematic history, and we are all lucky to witness it in real time.

Go see “Marty Supreme” Christmas Day, even if you have to leave your Christmas celebrations behind. Seriously, sprint to your closest theater when the film releases, you will not regret it.

Larisa: Marty Supreme didn’t just exceed my expectations; it hit them right out of the table tennis court.

Josh Safdie’s highly anticipated first solo project features a star-studded cast with Timothée Chalamet leading. The film’s October premiere at a secret screening at the New York Film Festival garnered massive praise from critics, with some calling it a “career-defining performance" for Chalamet.

After seeing it myself, I can confirm that the movie lives up to the online hype.

While the character of Marty Mauser is incredibly arrogant and strong-headed, Chalamet does such an incredible job of making him someone that audiences can’t help but root for, even if you disagree with his methods of “achieving greatness.”

Not only did Chalamet nail the emotional portrayal of such a complex character, he also committed wholeheartedly to perfecting the art of table tennis, the integral aspect of Mauser’s character.

According to an article from the Hollywood Reporter, Safdie approached Chalamet about the role in 2018, and the actor had been practicing table tennis on most of his movie sets since then in preparation.

From the shockingly well-played performances audiences see in the film, it’s clear that practice paid off. (Although I would love to see Chalamet play a real game of table tennis sometime, just to see how good he really is at the sport.)

The movie follows Mauser’s journey to fulfill what he sees as a God-given destiny: becoming a table tennis champion and using it as a way to support his family.

Set against a backdrop of 1950s New York, the film borrows tension from the post-World War II landscape, tying into Mauser’s Jewish identity and desire to prove himself against the odds.

Chalamet’s isn’t the only standout performance of the movie. Odessa A’zion, Kevin O’Leary, Tyler Okonoma and Gwyneth Paltrow all create characters that bring the film to life. In my opinion, Paltrow’s depiction of Kay Stone, an aging movie star who finds herself entangled in Mauser’s life, is perhaps one of her best recent performances.

While Marty Supreme may run two and a half hours, the fast-moving plot and action-packed scenes fuel a momentum that makes the time just fade away. Safdie’s direction created a tense, edge-of-your-seat feeling that kept me hooked until the very end.

The soundtrack lends itself to the tension, and the mix of original score pieces and 80s classics, such as “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears (as featured in the trailer), sets the scene without taking away from the 1950s setting.

After watching this film, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Marty Supreme sweep at the Oscars this year, and certainly wouldn’t be disappointed to see a first-time win for Chalamet in the Best Leading Actor category, although he might have some stiff competition with Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance in One Battle After Another.

With that being said, Marty Supreme is a must-watch film this holiday season. Take your friends, take your family (but be mindful of the “R” rating), and go see Marty Supreme when it comes out on Christmas Day.

Gib: At the risk of sounding basic, I am a pretty big Timothée Chalamet fan. I fell in love when he played that sad little boy in “Call Me By Your Name”, and was just as equally entranced when he played that other sad little boy: Willy Wonka. I have loved watching his beautiful eyes and perfect cheekbones appear across so many screens over the past few years, so I was obviously very hyped for this film.

Besides Guillermo Del Toro’s “Frankenstein”, this was my most anticipated film of 2025.

I am a very big fan of “Uncut Gems” and enjoyed Benny Safdie’s film from earlier this year. I wanted to see what the other Safdie brother, Josh, could bring to the table, and man, he for sure delivered.

As you can see from our other article about “The Smashing Machine,” that film was pretty solid, but after watching “Marty Supreme,” you can really tell which Safdie brother has “the sauce.”

This film was an absolute whirlwind. With a seemingly staggering run time of 2 hours and 30 minutes, you can hardly tell as the story unfolds.

There are so many characters here to keep track of, which makes the story evenly split between a few different parts, and easier to follow based on which side character is present alongside our titular MC, Marty Mauser.

None of these characters feel like they overstay their welcome either, and you get a great sense of people’s personalities and goals within the story, even if some have far less screen time than others.

Something that stood out to me was the dialogue, and especially how Chalamet delivered his own lines. His character Marty is absolutely obnoxious, and almost everything he says is a jab or an insult to someone he deems “less important” than him. But Chalamet, as always, is extremely charming and manages to make the audience root for Mauser despite it all.

This is helped by his characterization alongside the writing of Mauser, and you see how his actions bite him back in the end. We go on an entire journey following the rise and fall of this kid, and he gets an ending that feels very well-deserved and realistic, despite the insanity of the film.

Every actor did a fantastic job, but I am particularly drawn to the performance from Tyler Okonma, who plays a friend and occasional partner in crime of Mauser. I, like every other person, am a big fan of Okonma and was delighted to see how well he fit into this world.

His character ended up being one of my favorites, with a story that feels earned and a personality that reads well on screen, despite him not being in the film much. My other favorite performance was from Odessa A’zion, who I believe will be our next Hollywood “it girl”.

This film, while being a classic story of a “kid with ego trying to make it big”, makes itself extremely special, and stands out among the rest of the films that hold a similar theme. There’s this idea in film that every story has already been told, so you have to figure out how you can take what has been placed in front of you and make it your own.

“Marty Supreme”, with a character and a plot so specific, is the epitome of this concept. It forces the audience to understand why it had to be made, and uses its specificities, like the decade it takes place in and the sport itself, to prove how worthy it was of getting made, much like Mauser himself.

The film itself was just classic Safdie, with insane editing, fast pacing and creating an entire world to be sucked into, by a main character you kind of hate.

I would suggest going into this movie knowing it’s long, but don’t be scared of that run time. The story never drags, and I never found myself bored, even when the scene was just 20 minutes of table tennis, which happens right at the end.

My favorite film from the year is still “Frankenstein”, but if I can put aside my love for gothic film for just a second, “Marty Supreme” can reign supreme. Ha. Get it? Go watch it.