Marty Reisman was a rather notorious figure from the late 40’s in New York City’s underground table tennis (aka ping pong) world as a young 20-something shark who lured unsuspecting amateur players in and made big bets on himself at Lawrence’s Broadway Table Tennis Club. Later in 1958 and 1960 he would become US Singles Men’s champion in the rather obscure sport, among many other titles he accumulated in his life. He was nicknamed the ‘needle’ for his quick-talking wit and slender build.

Loosely inspired for his film, Marty Supreme on Reisman and a book he wrote about that period as a young man supremely confident in his skills in the game, Josh Safdie has made a supremely confident movie about a motor mouth fast talking, brash, ,talented, often arrogant young man named Marty Mauser who longed to ditch his Uncle’s shoe store for what he was sure would be true glory in the world of ping pong, an entity more popular around the globe than in America where it was a bit of a joke in the post-war period of 1952, the year this movie is set. .

In other words Marty is a piece of work, surrounded by a domineering mom , pregnant girlfriend who also happens to be married, a need to make cash, and most importantly belief in himself that he could become dominant in a sport that does have credibility only outside of NYC and America and where he can rise to the top.

What Safdie, and his co-writer, co-producer, and co-editor Ronald Bronstein have made is decidedly not a biopic but rather a fictionalized portrait of a ‘what makes Sammy run’ type of character from the lower east side of NY who scavengers for money – and yes happiness – in any way he knows how. With the perfect casting of Timothée Chalamet as its title star, you go along for this wild ride of a young man in a hurry, but sometimes his own worst enemy. Chalamet is, as you might expect, just sensational in the role, every bit as commanding as Adam Sandler was in another kinetic deep NYC film of Safdie’s (done with brother Benny), 2019’s similarly manic – but brilliant – Uncut Gems about a man trying to survive by wit and grit in NYC’s diamond district. Marty Supreme is unmistakably the work of the same filmmaker who seems drawn to the fringe of New Yorkers living out a dream on the precipice of a nightmare.

At a Q&A after the L.A. screening I attended Chalamet opined on who might have played this role in an earlier time, settling perhaps on Al Pacino. Maybe, the younger ‘Dog Day’ Pacino would have nailed it, but no this film and character goes back earlier to 1961 and Paul Newman’s ‘Fast’ Eddie Felson, traveling pool hall to pool hall taking in the unsuspecting opponents until it all collapsed. Marty Supreme is Chalamet’s The Hustler, and watching it play out I kept hoping this one was in black and white scope as well, but with the dark skills of cinematographer Darius Khonji we are in good hands. You can just smell this environment and this era, and Chalamet, like Newman before him, is not afraid one bit to play a character who can be so stuck on his own driving dream as to be thoroughly unlikeable at points. This is a new age movie star playing a completely un-movie star role. It will be interesting to see how his younger fans of Wonka and Dune try to warm up to this guy. It doesn’t matter. Chalamet (who is also a producer) deserves the props here, going far beyond nailing the sometimes self-obsessed young Dylan in NY circa a decade later in A Complete Unknown, to capture the adventures of a young man desperate to show the world he is the real deal, even if, like Felson, still waters don’t run that deep.

But boy, Marty has a way with a paddle.

Safdie has populated this film with over 100 colorful characters out of the time and place, with an anxious pace that never lets up for the a bit-long two hour and a half running time. Chief among them is Rachel Mizler (Odessa A’zion), pregnant and married and perfectly matched girlfriend for Marty. She’s the only one in his life pretty much exactly like him, a hustler at heart as well who ratchets up her emotions to extreme levels, ready to take a chance for something different. Then there is Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow), a faded actress who gave it all up for a more secure (she thinks) life with mover and shaker ink pen mogul husband, Miltion Rockwell (Shark Tank’s villain Kevin O’Leary). She comes into Marty’s life as the kid tries to convince Rockwell to sponsor him, and take his act to new heights with money he desperately needs to go global. That these two disparate souls get together in a transactional affair seems perfect, one with an ascending dream of the spotlight, one on the other end of it.

There is so much happening here as Marty finds avenues for his unique ping pong talents beyond hustling locals out of their money. He even finds himself the opening act on tour with the Harlem Globetrotters at one point (this actually did happen to Marty Reisman). Another memorable story thread starts with Marty’s bathtub crashing through the floor and directly smashing the ceiling and on to the older resident and his dog in the apartment below, leading to a madcap instant job for Marty and his friend Wally (Tyler Okonma aka Tyler, The Creator in an effective acting debut) to take the traumatized pooch to the vet in another move that doesn’t go well but serves as a thread for this tale to go back to a few times with increasingly harrowing stakes.

Then there is the table tennis as Marty faces off with competitors with worldwide chops, notably his main nemesis, Koto Endo (played by real life National Deaf Table Tennis Champion Koto Kawaguchi), who serves as sort of a Minnesota Fats opponent (sorry for the repeated The Hustler analogies) for Marty. Chalamet clearly developed some impressive paddle talents on his own to be believable here, aided by CGI though as well, and these sequences are effective as the film jet sets to London, Paris, Tokyo, and Egypt even, as Marty schemes his climb into the big time.

In addition to Chalamet, Marty Supreme is boosted by superb performances all around. A’zion is no doubt a breakout talent, mesmerizing on screen here and in another little seen 2025 gem called Pools where she really proves she is one to watch (try to find that one on Amazon or Apple and watch her simply soar plus she also has supporting role in hit new series I Love LA). Hard to believe Paltrow has been off screen for seven years but this return in a supporting role is worth the wait, playing a character ironically who also returns to acting in one particularly memorable rehearsal for a Broadway play that also gets to feature Fred Hechinger as a co-star and none other than David Mamet as the director. Paltrow hasn’t lost a beat and makes her unlikely seduction by Chalamet one that feels authentic for a woman trying to recover what she has lost in her life.

Perhaps the real acting find here is O’Leary, the bad guy shark from Shark Tank who is one of many non-acting finds Safdie likes to pepper his casts with. He is right on the money and perfection as a businessman who could be Marty’s angel but turns into his devil as well. This guy has a future. Fran Drescher is effective in all too brief scenes as Marty’s rather domineering mother, and with a cast of over 100 speaking roles casting director Jennifer Venditti really delivers the goods on every level, a triumph of professional and street casting if ever there was one.

All the production elements are top notch including Miyako Bellizzi’s period costumes, Daniel Lopatin’s swell musical score which hits all the right notes in ping ponging from one mood to another, and shout out to veteran Production Designer Jack Fisk in recreating the Lower east side of NYC circa 1950’s along with more glamorous surroundings required.

Producers are Eli Bush, Anthony Katagas, Chalamet, Safdie, and Bronstein.

Title: Marty Supreme

Distributor: A24 Films

Release Date: December 25, 2025

Director: Josh Safdie

Screenplay: Josh Safdie and Ronald Bronstein

Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tyler Okonma, Kevin O’ Leary, Abel Ferrara, Fran Drescher, Emory Cohen, Odessa A’zion, Koto Kawaguchi, Sandra Bernhard, Fred Hechinger, David Mamet

Rating: R

Running Time: 2 hours and 29 minutes