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NEW YORK,December 27,2025 – Timothée Chalamet’s latest role as Marty Mauser in marty supremo is already generating buzz,not just for the performance itself,but for the chaotic,morally ambiguous world it inhabits-a world where scamming the mafia for a plane ticket to Tokyo is just another Tuesday.
A Spiritual Successor to Uncut Gems
marty supremo feels like a direct companion piece to Josh Safdie’s 2019 thriller, uncut gems, though the Safdie brothers have seemingly pursued separate paths since that film. While Benny Safdie is not directly involved, director Bronstein clearly channels the Safdies’ signature style of anxiety-inducing filmmaking. The film follows Marty (Chalamet), a 23-year-old hustler juggling a dizzying array of schemes: relentlessly pitching an investment possibility-orange ping-pong balls-to a gullible friend (Luke Manley), driving his mother (Fran Drescher) to the brink, avoiding commitment to his pregnant childhood friend, Rachel (Odessa A’zion), who has recently fled an abusive marriage, and, of course, dodging the mafia.
what makes Marty Mauser different from other Safdie protagonists? He’s a 23-year-old who seems utterly oblivious to the precariousness of his existence, a stark contrast to the middle-aged Howard Ratner in uncut gems, who was acutely aware his world was collapsing.
Safdie reportedly drew inspiration for Marty Mauser from Marty Reisman, a notorious table tennis champion in 1950s New York, nicknamed “the Needle” for his lean physique and sharp wit. However, the extent to which Reisman’s biography informed the film remains unclear, given the increasingly outlandish scenarios and the unsettling atmosphere cultivated by Bronstein.
Chalamet embodies Marty’s youthful arrogance with a captivating energy. He portrays a character who doesn’t seem to grasp the potential consequences of his actions, even when those actions involve defrauding hazardous people to fund a trip to a war-torn city. His interactions with Paltrow’s character, Kay Stone, are presented not as a scandalous affair, but as a fleeting distraction for a woman of privilege.
The film’s opening credits sequence, set to an enhanced version of Alphaville’s “Forever Young,” further emphasizes this theme of fleeting youth. It mirrors the opening of uncut gems-a microscopic yet expansive view of a colonoscopy-but instead presents a determined sperm swimming towards its goal, a visual metaphor for Marty’s relentless, if misguided, ambition.
It’s easy to envision Chalamet’s Marty eventually becoming a Howard Ratner, if he were to survive long enough. Though, Chalamet’s charisma and the film’s overall tone suggest a different fate. He delivers a performance reminiscent of Leonardo DiCaprio’s turn in the aviator, shedding his earlier roles to embrace a more complex and flawed character.
- marty supremo is a spiritual prequel to uncut gems, exploring similar themes of mania and desperation.
- Timothée Chalamet delivers a captivating performance as Marty Mauser, a character driven by ego and naiveté.
- The film draws inspiration from real-life table tennis champion Marty Reisman, though the extent of the connection is unclear.
- The narrative explores the contrast between youthful invincibility and the inevitability of consequences.
Viewers are invited to revel in the kind of performance Chalamet has been waiting for, a role that allows him to fully embrace the character’s flaws and vulnerabilities. He navigates Marty’s harshness and vanity with a playful glee, hinting at the potential for a darker future, but ultimately leaving the audience captivated by his undeniable presence.