Messy, intense, and outrageous: if these words describe everything you’re looking for in a movie, look no further than director Josh Safdie’s 2025 Oscar-nominated film “Marty Supreme.” The movie’s lead actor, Timothee Chalamet, has already won a Golden Globe for Best Male Actor in a Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy, which is a premonition for how the movie will perform at the Academy Awards on March 15. However, the film did lose Best Motion Picture, Musical, or Comedy to “One Battle After Another,” which puts it at odds with the aforementioned film and huge box office success “Sinners” for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
The film takes place primarily in 1952 New York City, following the up-and-down life of ping-pong prodigy Marty Mauser. Marty is best described as a smarmy pathological liar; throughout the film, he lies to lovers, family, friends, and strangers to get what he wants. Although you will most likely not like his personality or how he interacts with others, you ultimately feel yourself rooting for him by the end of the movie. Chalamet played this character with so much conviction that you feel yourself begin to loathe Chalamet himself, even though their personalities are completely different.
The plot itself is loosely based on the real-life story of champion ping-pong player Marty Reisman, who passed away in 2012. In his 1974 memoir “The Money Player,” he stated that all of the top table tennis players had to be “gamblers or smugglers.” His description is a pin-point-accurate hit to the story of the film, as the fictional Marty essentially hustles his way to the top, helped by his obvious skill. The majority of the film follows his bumpy climb to worldwide acclaim after he is humiliated at the world championship semifinals match against Japanese hometown-hero Koto Endo. He vows to play Endo again in Tokyo before the world championships take place, begrudgingly making deals with Rockwell Ink’s Milton Rockwell, portrayed by entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary, to meet that goal.
The movie’s lighting is extremely well done and is one of the strongest cinematic aspects of the film. The ping-pong match scenes are centered on Marty and any given opponent with strong tones of green from the table and brown from the glossy hardwood floors. The intense lighting adds to the feeling of adrenaline during suspenseful table tennis matches. Still, despite the strengths of the lighting design, the dark lighting can at times slip into the trend of becoming overdone, obscuring the subjects of the film.
The costuming and makeup, done by acclaimed costume designer Miyako Bellizzi, is both extremely well done and historically accurate for the time period. Gwyneth Paltrow’s character Kay Stone especially stood out, not just in her superb portrayal of a somewhat washed-up actress, but also as being one of the best-dressed characters in the film. Her black and white skirt suit that she adorns when going to see Marty’s match in London was one look in particular that stood out.
One of the most surprising aspects of the film were the sudden and fairly gruesome fight scenes scattered throughout that gave it that classic A24 studio touch that so many people love. In the studio’s typical style, the special effects take it to another level of gore and extravagance, sometimes feeling like it’s intentionally overdone for shock value.
Overall, “Marty Supreme’s” acting, storyline, and overall quintessentially A24 over-the-top touch make it one of a kind for this award season. It has a good chance of taking home several of their nine nominations at the Oscars, particularly for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role and Best Costume Design. “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners” seem to have “Marty Supreme” beat for Best Motion Picture of the Year, as those two have proven to be fans and critics’ favorites of the year. Although the movie has to go up against two other cinematic giants, it has a strong chance of holding its own in the Academy Awards.
