Why Marty Supreme proves once and for all that Timothée Chalamet haters are wrong

Please note: this article contains spoilers for “Marty Supreme”.

Where were you when the great Timothée Chalamet Debate happened? Was it following that incredibly honest speech at this year’s SAG Awards, when he proclaimed that he was “in search of greatness“? Maybe it started earlier, right around the time he decided to cash in his big IP franchise chip and direct a “Wonka” musical prequel. (I know that definition technically covers “Dune,” but come on, an “unadaptable” adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel by Denis Villeneuve doesn’t exactly make you want to “move money.”) Hell, there’s probably someone out there who still has a bone to pick with the kid after Luca Guadagnino finished “Call Me By Your Name” with five minutes straight of nothing but Chalamet sobbing his little eyes out.

Regardless of when the first shot was fired in this online war, the result was the same: the emerging talent affectionately known as “Timmy” simply became someone you either love or hate, with very little middle ground. Neither “Lady Bird” nor “Little Women” could sway anyone one way or the other, much less minor roles in “The French Dispatch” and “Don’t Look Up” or even “A Complete Unknown,” its obligatory biopic box just waiting to be checked. Perhaps he was always destined to be a lightning rod, forever working with the best of the best filmmakers in the world, but doomed to endless wondering whether or not he was. Really a movie star or not.

That is, until Josh Safdie delivered it the role of your life with “Marty Supreme”. From now on, let that be the dividing line. Remember this day, my friends, for it is the day that Timothée Chalamet’s skeptics were proven wrong, once and for all.

“Drama is very important to me. I can’t downplay it,” Marty Mouser says at the start of “Marty Supreme.” A relentless New York hustler with an annoying mustache and even more obnoxious bravado, the rising table tennis star couldn’t have felt like a more fitting role for Timothée Chalamet’s haters. Whether you buy into the idea that the one-man marketing campaign for his latest starring role was performance art, intentionally exploiting Marty’s self-confidence, what is clear is that this aggressive public relations strategy blurred the lines between performer and person. Where does one end and the other begin? And, more precisely, does matter?

“Marty Supreme” argues that there is nothing purer than devoting yourself to a lifelong ambition – and nothing more destructive, either. Among all the layers of facade that make up the web of contradictions that is Marty Mouser, his passion for succeeding at table tennis is undeniable. However, it is equally undeniable that he will screw over every single one of his friends, family, business partners, and lovers along the way, leaving a trail of chaos in his wake. Not that Chalamet himself is about to do that, mind you. In fact, his biggest “sin” so far has been having the temerity to admit that he wants to become a master of his craft – how dare he!

While his press tour antics may seem off-putting to traditionalist movie fans, die-hard sports fans (of all people) can understand this motivation. To be the best, you have to act like you’re the best. They must claim it, manifest it and make it exist, if that is what it takes. Who embodies this better than Chalamet?

While Josh Safdie is known for his films that tend to feel like anxiety attacks.the real magic of “Marty Supreme” lies in its ability to let Chalamet own the screen. If “Dune” hadn’t already made it clear (and we’d say both films did it), there should be no doubt: Chalamet is a bonafide movie star, and there are dozens of moments in “Marty Supreme” that prove it.

Look no further than the camera practically worships his face. The simplest example would be to show Marty repeatedly (and believably) charming the pants off Gwyneth Paltrow’s faded movie star Kay Stone, but that hardly does justice to a performance that almost crackles with electricity. There’s his lingering look of disgust and self-loathing directed at a seal performing in a circus. Or the breathtaking hypocrisy when he criticizes his lover Rachel (an equally brilliant Odessa A’zion) for having no purpose in life and making things up as she goes along. Or his incredibly smug delivery of “that doesn’t even occur to me” when Kay challenges him to just contemplate failure.

However, what really seals the deal is another late-film crying scene – this time, when Marty sees his baby for the first time. In just a few seconds, all coping mechanisms and any bits of undeserved self-confidence disappear. In its place is a mixture of something entirely different: love, terror, maybe even a little shame. But more than anything else, there is a new conviction to succeed. If we see this moment become his highlight at the 2026 Oscars, the truth will be there for all to see. Chalamet is made for this moment, and there is no more debate about it.

“Marty Supreme” is now playing in theaters.