‘Marty Supreme’ blows it up into a wild, stylish dramedy

By Janet Grant

Directed by Josh Safdie | Starring Timothée Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A’zion, Tyler, The Creator, Fran Drescher, Kevin O’Leary, Sandra Bernhard, Koto Kawaguchi

Every TIFF one film one grabs you with its energy, its weirdness, its heart. For TIFF 50, that film is Marty Supreme. Josh Safdie takes the tiny world of 1950s table tennis and blows it up into a wild, stylish, unexpectedly emotional sports dramedy. And at the centre of all that glorious chaos is Timothée Chalamet, giving one of the most entertaining performances of his career.

Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, a ping-pong prodigy who refuses to accept that the world sees his sport as a basement hobby. Marty wants noise, crowds, marketing, sponsors, the whole American spectacle. He’s a hustler, a visionary, and a walking disaster, and Chalamet leans into every corner of that charm and delusion. It’s fun watching an actor push himself, and he seems to be having the time of his life.

The film takes on the 1950s, a vibrant, fast-moving era. Neon lights, smoky clubs, greedy businessmen, and slick promoters who see Marty as either a goldmine or a joke, depending on the day. The ping-pong matches are shot like boxing showdowns, and the tension is real, with fast cuts, loud crowds, and that trademark Safdie anxiety humming underneath.

The ensemble cast brings the perfect kind of chaos. Gwyneth Paltrow is hilarious as Marty’s picture-perfect mother barely holding her panic together. Odessa A’zion grounds the film as the girlfriend who sees through Marty’s big talk. Tyler, The Creator steals every scene as an unpredictable promoter, while Kevin O’Leary fits right in as a ruthless businessman. And Koto Kawaguchi, as Marty’s stoic Japanese rival, adds genuine emotional weight.

But underneath all the comedy and flash, Marty Supreme is a film about belief. About dreaming too big for your surroundings. About wanting something with your whole chest, even when people laugh.

By the final act, the film spins into pure Safdie mayhem, but it lands somewhere surprisingly warm. Marty Supreme is loud, messy, heartfelt, and completely its own thing, a winning tribute to underdogs and dreamers everywhere.

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