Brothers Benny and Josh Safdie have co-directed and co-written a handful of features that brought them a lot of critical acclaim as darlings in the independent film scene. Such examples of this acclaim are their terrific films "Daddy Longlegs" (2009) and "Good Time" (2017).
These successful brothers took an unexpected turn in 2025 when they separated professionally to direct and write different films on their own. Bennie Safdie wrote and directed the sports biopic "The Smashing Machine" (2025), which premiered in October, and Josh Safdie directed and co-wrote the period drama "Marty Supreme" which premiered at Christmas and which I watched recently. I had a fun time watching "Marty Supreme" but maybe not for the reasons you expect.
Our title character in this is Marty Mauser, a passionate table tennis player and shoe-salesman who talks fast, moves fast, and pushes his way through 1950s New York City. But Marty is not just a ping-pong master; he’s a con man and hustler continually scamming strangers and friends out of their money and charming his way into women’s beds. Despite his rising star status, Marty needs to quickly gather a lot of cash to pay for his airfare to travel overseas and dominate an international tournament. But with only one week to get the cash, Marty hustles as fast as he can.
Like the swift bouncing journey of a ping-pong ball always changing direction, much of this film feels like a constant adrenaline rush as Marty jumps into, and out of, all sorts of trouble from avoiding the police to falling through a bathroom floor. The story takes so many abrupt unpredictable turns, it feels like the frenetic charged randomness of youth culture full of endless possibilities. All this unpredictability makes "Marty Supreme" simultaneously exciting and exhausting like an accelerated screwball comedy with a dark edge. At no point did I feel bored or confused.
This rated-R drama is loosely based on the events of real-life table tennis player and entertainer Marty Reisman who made history winning the World Championships in 1949 and who played competitively into his old age. Timothy Chalamet ("A Complete Unknown," 2025) plays this leading role with a verbally aggressive attitude combined with a relaxed arrogance. Yes, his ping-pong playing looks authentic and spirited. (He trained for years to develop real ping-pong skills.) But it’s his entitled air of getting what he wants at all costs that gives this film its powerful consistent vibe. Marty is creative, fiercely independent, and consumed by his quest for triumph.
"Marty Supreme" reminds me of other films "The Hustler" (1961) crossed with The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). I liked this not just because of its ragged determination but also because of its message. While it is a coming-of-age film on the surface, "Marty Supreme" is more deeply about the myth of American exceptionalism and the sobering realization that the specialness of the individual does not automatically grant success (an idea long-perpetuated in the U.S.). What happens to someone when their dreams for greatness don’t happen? How can our youth grow up in a world (especially the post-war world of the 50s) when winning is everything?
Marty Mauser is the personification of this 1950s belief of American superiority. After its WWII victory, the U.S. projected itself as a strong leader through capitalism and growth (both of its population and its federal government). And with so much prosperity happening at this time, Marty Mauser resolves to grab as much of it as possible. That entitled hope is part of what makes this film relatable and accessible to so many viewers.
Even though this hopefulness is a strong theme of the film, the ending is too sweet or too optimistic to me. And using a 1980s Tears for Fears song feels silly and misplaced in a film like this. (Aren't we supposed to be watching a film set in the 1950s?) But those issues are the only ones I had after leaving the theater.
Like their beloved hit film Uncut Gems (2019), Benny and Josh Safdie love creating films about tragic heroes. They love creating male characters who flirt with danger and who obsess over always getting more. Marty Mauser is another such character. Marty Supreme does not give us a role model to admire, but it does give us an engaging voice with something important to say.
