A supremely confident Timothee Chalamet

Movies: Marty Supreme

How much obnoxious behavior can you take?

The new movie Marty Supreme by writer-director Josh Safdie, he of Uncut Gems fame, again entertains us with a spontaneous feel that captures the emotional chaos of everyday life in a warm, recognizable manner.

The warmth starts to evaporate, though, when the storyline strains credibility, with our energetic young protagonist bouncing from one improbable and increasingly volatile situation after another, in pursuit of table tennis glory. Realism becomes fable, and then farce.

I barely made it through the scene where a gas station blows up at night. Then I almost left when the next day a car plows into a hulking farmer wielding a shotgun, and completely demolishes the poor man’s front porch in the process.

Another sticking point is how the protagonist's behavior becomes progressively less charming and decidedly more annoying as his prospects begin to unravel.

It would appear “annoying” is precisely what writer-director Safdie and male lead Timothee Chalamet are going for, and I must admit they succeed brilliantly in this regard.

When Mr. Chalamet’s increasingly desperate character and his character’s pregnant girlfriend end up back at his old boss’ small, inner city apartment in the middle of the night, and start arguing vociferously with his boss’ grown son about letting the two of them sleep there, I lost all hope and had no choice but to head for the door, mid-movie.

It turns out this much concentrated obnoxious behavior — while utterly believable and certainly true to life — is of limited interest to me as the basis for a full-length feature film.

Despite my objections, Marty Supreme has received critical acclaim for its direction, screenplay, editing, score, and for what is being described as Mr. Chalamet’s riveting and career-defining performance. It has also been named one of the top ten films of 2025 by the National Board of Review and The American Film Institute.

Well, to each their own, as the old saying goes.