MARTY SUPREME (2025) - A24

Marty Supreme
A24

Original Release Date Dec. 25th, 2025
Written by Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie
Directed by Josh Safdie
Starring Timothée Chalamet, Odessa A'zion, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tyler the Creator, Kevin O'Leary
Language English (Descriptive Audio available) (English and Spanish subtitles available)

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by "Doc" Hunter Bush, MovieJawn Podcast Director and Staff Writer 

Marty Supreme comes to Blu-ray from A24. Directed and co-written by Josh Safdie who, in his directorial debut, delivers a film that is similarly tense and of-a-kind with previous Safdie Bros. offerings. A24's release of Marty Supreme looks and sounds wonderful with an informative audio commentary track to beef up the slim bonus features.

The Movie Itself: Good

I can acknowledge that Marty Supreme is an incredibly well-made and detail-oriented film while also admitting that it's not really for me. In the other films from Josh Safdie (then working with brother Benny) which I've seen, Good Time (2017) and Uncut Gems (2019), there is a "there but for the grace of God" element to the main characters' unlikeability. Watching Robert Pattinson or Adam Sandler dig themselves even deeper graves in those films feels like we are sympathizing with men in difficult circumstances, while Marty Supreme (the film) seems to worship Marty (the character) and his awful, narcissistic behavior.

Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet) is a table tennis pro living in New York in the 1950s, and he's very good. If you ask him, and even if you don't, he'll tell you he's the best. Now he just needs to prove it. The focus of the film ultimately becomes Marty's desire to win at an international table tennis championship being held in Japan, which would be difficult enough without Marty constantly shooting himself in the foot. He burns bridges, double crosses and manipulates anyone who wanders into his orbit, and isn't afraid to drag others into the messes he makes.

If you've enjoyed watching previous Safdie films, there's a lot of similar tonal stuff to enjoy here, whether or not you feel like I do regarding Marty. But as a film, Marty Supreme is impeccably made. Apparently, Josh Safdie is a stickler for historical details which leads to an incredibly immersive world being constructed. The making of featurette and the commentary track each highlight numerous historical details that, while you might not notice them, especially on a first viewing, with everything going on, absolutely add to your immersion into this world.

However you feel about Marty Mauser, or table tennis, or hustle culture in general, Marty Supreme is just a fantastically made film. Chalamet disappears into this character to a degree you don't often see from such marquee stars. He's supported by a fantastic cast of characters and actors including fellow table tennis players (Tyler the Creator and Géza Röhrig are standouts), family (Fran Drescher as his mother), a love interest (Odessa A'zion as childhood friend Rachel) or two (Gwyneth Paltrow as faded actress Kay Stone), and some very dangerous and powerful antagonists (Abel Ferrara and Kevin O'Leary), one of whom might be an actual, actual, actual vampire.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate this film by any stretch. I just feel an odd tone coming from the film itself that seems to almost revere Marty, no matter how awful and toxic a person he is, just because he has a dream and the drive to pursue it. While those are important qualities to have, I believe the way in which you live your life should matter as much if not more than what you accomplish in it. Regardless, I find Marty Supreme to be almost hypnotically watchable.

The Packaging: Good

This and The Smashing Machine are my first exposures to A24's physical media packaging, and overall, I like it. It's mostly card stock, with an exterior sleeve (that for some reason opens on the left side, as opposed to the right, which is more common) containing a card stock folded sleeve with the discs (in a plastic double tray) and a half dozen photo cards. These cards are presented almost like the photo spread in a high fashion magazine, with two images from the production on each card. It's all very stylish.

The cover to the exterior sleeve reproduces one of the posters for the film, that is primarily black with the title in huge silver letters and Marty standing, hands on hips, in front of the 'A'. It's a very handsome, eye-catching package, with some bright orange accents on the sleeve's spine and back. But my favorite detail is that the discs (one is the standard Blu-ray, one is the Ultra HD) look like Marty Supreme branded ping pong balls.

The Video: Excellent

This film looks incredible. There is a lot of darkness in Marty Supreme; a lot of sequences at night, or in darkened buildings. Even the table tennis competitions are in cavernous spaces with deep, dark shadows lurking behind everything. As you probably know, if you're perusing this section, low light levels can occasionally lead to visual noise. Obviously, this is less of a concern with modern films, as there is less overall degradation to the source materials, but it's still something to watch out for. Every one of the darker scenes in Marty Supreme looks like a jewel box, with what- or whoever is at the center shining and on display.

There is some film grain, but it's intentional and not in any way a distraction. If anything, it adds to the of-its-time immersion as much as the clothing and set details I mentioned. Grain adds a touch of gravitas and the weight of history to a film, and even subtextually or subconsciously, those things work with the film and its themes.

The Audio: Good

As with the visual section, I have no real complaints. I loved the score (from frequent Safdie collaborator Daniel Lopatin) and the 1980s pop songs that fill the soundtrack. Marty Supreme isn't an especially loud film overall, though there are noted exceptions and as such, I did have to turn the volume down at one point, which I'm not the biggest fan of. But it was just the once, which is infinitely preferable to having to ride the volume button, constantly seesawing from scene to scene.

Marty Supreme is a film that's full of life, with plenty of background noise, voices, and chaos that could lead to muddy sound quality. I've got a three-channel sound bar, primarily to give the built-in TV speakers a break and keep the thing from vibrating itself apart. I had no real issues with the mix, no problems with dialogue clarity, none of the pitfalls that actually effect the performance of the film.

The Supplements: Average

The supplements here are fine, if a little bit slight. The making of featurette is decent, and gave me a lot of finer points to pay attention to on subsequent rewatches. The camera test is interesting from an acting perspective, as Safdie decided to have Chalamet essentially crash Gwyneth Paltrow's camera test in character to feel the chemistry between them, and to watch her wordlessly determine what was happening and respond in kind was fascinating.

The stand out feature however, is the feature length commentary track from Josh Safdie. It's full of insight into his filmmaking process, his casting process, and a ton of history.

• Commentary track with Josh Safdie
• "Dream Big: The Making of Marty Supreme" Featurette (19:59) (HD)
• Camera Test with commentary by Josh Safdie (4:07) (HD)

Final Thoughts: Buy it on sale

In addition to reviewing this release of Marty Supreme, I also recently rewatched Josh's brother Benny Safdie's 2025 offering The Smashing Machine, and while I enjoy the filmmaking in both of the films, I feel like they're each finding their footing and experiencing the same, or similar hurdles. Marty Supreme is the stronger film, even though I think Smashing Machine has the more interesting lead performance.

Speaking of: Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin O'Leary, and especially Odessa A'zion give incredible performances that really give Timothée Chalamet something to bounce off of, and when Tyler the Creator shows up, you almost want the film to become about these two guys somehow making ends meet hustling games of table tennis at local sports bars, like The Hustler or The Color of Money. Surrounding someone as myopically driven as Marty can be with such interesting and textured characters is an incredibly smart decision and makes the film very watchable, while the behind the scenes work and attention to detail make it incredibly engrossing.