*SPOILERS AHEAD*
“Marty Supreme,” which was released in Dec. 2025, follows Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet), a professional table tennis player, who will stop at nothing to be the absolute best. Marty is hard to root for, making him an atypical protagonist. His selfish nature gets him into tricky situations, but he wins the audience over with his charming attitude. Marty seems like a complicated character to play, but Chalamet does so flawlessly.
The film takes place less than 10 years after the Holocaust, yet Marty cracks jokes about it like it’s just another Tuesday, always towing the line between clever and risky. Chalamet plays Marty perfectly. He found a strong balance between a determined dreamer and a manchild who throws public tantrums.
The film is heavily marketed as a table tennis movie, and even though Marty is a professional player, it is not the sole plot point of the movie. The sport itself gets the least amount of attention in this film as it is overshadowed by thrilling chase scenes, embezzlement and theft.
Though a spot in the table tennis world championships is Marty’s main goal, he ultimately falls short. Marty smooth-talks his way into dragging the people closest to him into his various troubles. He got his childhood friend shot, multiple people killed or injured and caused people to lose large amounts of money. Even with all that happening, you still find yourself rooting for everything to work out for Marty just so he can pay everyone back. The ups and downs make it frustrating when his main goal doesn’t get fulfilled.
Part of the movie’s promotion included a bright orange “Marty Supreme” table tennis ball – indicating that it would be a big part of the film – yet the orange ball is only mentioned a handful of times throughout the whole film. The movie has absolutely nothing to do with that ball, which was incredibly misleading and confusing when it was sidelined as a plot point.
The film’s score leans more toward 1980s synth pop, despite it taking place in the early 1950s, but it works well and matches Marty’s energy and ambition. The needle-drops in the film include “Forever Young” by Alphaville and “The Order of Death” by Public Image Ltd. Despite the decade gap in setting and soundtrack, each song elevates the movie efficiently.
The ending leaves some ambiguity as Marty’s close friend, Rachel (Odessa A’zion), gives birth to their baby. Despite Rachel carrying his child, Marty was very unattached throughout most of the movie. Marty’s “entitled douchebag” front is dropped the second he sees his child for the first time. For the first time in the film, tears escaped his eyes over something other than a table tennis match. Some people interpreted this ending as Marty crying over his newfound responsibility and having to give up his dreams, while others believe Marty cried because he had a change of heart and saw his new responsibilities in a positive light. Regardless of the meaning, it is an emotional scene and the fact that he even went to see the baby in the first place – after being convinced it wasn’t his and saying Rachel should put it up for adoption – is a step in the right direction for Marty.
“Marty Supreme” is nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Actor, Best Director and Best Picture. Chalamet, now a four-time Oscar nominee, has a producer credit on the film and has already taken home Best Actor at the Critics’ Choice and Golden Globe awards. Time will tell, but Marty Supreme’s award reign is most likely far from over.
