All eyes focus ahead, the audience holds their breath, and the theatre itself seems to be frozen as a ping pong ball propels across the screen like a missile.
Marty Mauser, played by Timothée Chalamet, fights for fame, recognition and glory in his sport.
Set in the 1950’s, the plot of Marty Supreme has a strong core of hardship, fame, and how far someone will go for their dreams. To me, Marty Supreme is one of the most stressful and strangely beautiful two-and-a-half hours you will experience in cinemas.
The movie follows Mauser as he navigates love affairs, becomes a star in the international table tennis community, makes enough money to survive, and achieves his personal dream of becoming the greatest table tennis player in the world. While it is based loosely on a real world story, there are many fictional or dramatized scenes throughout.
Marty Mauser experiences incredible highs and unbelievable lows through the movie. Seeing things that everyday people can only dream of and suffering through things that are some of their greatest fears.
The plot and story are very immersive and as I watched, I found myself switching between rooting for Marty, and disapproving of his bad choices as the movie spirals. His portrayal is so real and raw. As Mauser strives for greatness, the movie pushes the audience to question their own moral compass.
The movie is not afraid to be explicit or absurdly aggressive, but it is truly essential to the plot and the film’s gritty aura. Because of the raw, sudden nature of events in the scene, the reactions and behavior of characters feels realistic.
The acting in this movie was excellent, Chalamet took the role of Mauser and made it his own. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the screen because of how astonishing and intense the actors were. Along side Chalamet, Gwyenth Paltrow (Kay Stone), Tyler, The Creator (Wally), and Odessa A’zion (Rachel Mizler) made this movie a masterpiece. Chalamet stated at the 2025 SAG awards that he was in “the pursuit of greatness” a trait that both he and Mauser exude on screen. Chalamet carries himself with the same young, hungry and confident swagger of Al Pacino in the 1970s. The Tagline of the movie “Dream Big,” is a perfect summation of the film.
Another highlight of the movie was the soundtrack, composed by Daniel Lopatin. It featured synth-heavy energetic and motivated music, that fit the fast volley of a ping pong game to a tee, for me it was reminiscent to the electric soundtrack of another recent sports drama, Challengers directed by Luca Guadagnino. It also featured many iconic 80’s songs like “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” by Tears for Fears and 50’s jazz classics like Fats Domino’s “The Fat Man”.
Marty Supreme is a great two and a half hour watch. It is beautiful in its story, cinematography, and acting portrayals. I would recommend this to people who enjoy high stakes, drama, and ambition.
