By Aydan Cantu

At the 2025 Academy Awards, Timothée Chalamet received his second nomination in the Best Actor category for his remarkable turn as Bob Dylan in James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown. Although he wasn’t the predicted front-runner, Chalamet gained momentum in the leading months to the ceremony, going so far as to winning the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor, a major award that often predicts future Oscar winners. However, come Oscar night, the Academy decided to reward Adrien Brody for his masterful performance in The Brutalist instead. But even before Oscar night, Chalamet was already promising something else, something larger than any role he’s ever played: Marty Supreme. 

If you’ve been on social media these last few months, chances are you’ve seen Chalamet’s insane marketing campaign. From creating a whole fashion line to going on top of the Las Vegas Sphere, to having a blimp in the air for 13 days straight, each stunt somehow managed to outdo the last.

After months of hype and anticipation, Marty Supreme is finally here, and while I enjoyed it, I don’t feel it’s the masterpiece others are claiming it to be. It was good, but it wasn’t that good. It just seems like something is missing from this movie—what that is, however, I can’t seem to put my finger on. Actually, I think I have an idea what it may be, but it needs a brief explanation first. 

Marty Supreme is directed by Josh Safdie, one-half of the Safdie brothers filmmaking duo. Recently, he and his brother, Benny, have decided to go their separate ways and pursue different projects. Benny went on to direct the awful Dwayne Johnson-led biopic, The Smashing Machine, which released back in October, meanwhile Josh made Marty Supreme. Before their split, the only film I watched from the two as a duo was their 2019 masterpiece, Uncut Gems—a film that requires no introduction. The way I felt watching Gems was unlike any other movie I have seen. It’s an intense, anxiety-inducing experience that keeps you on the edge of your seat until its climax.  

When early Marty Supreme reactions came out, it was described as delivering an experience on the same level as Gems. However, I felt that was not to be the case. The film brings a lot of energy, yet not the same amount as Gems. Because of this, I found my experience to be very underwhelming. 

Aside from that, I don’t have any other main problems with Marty Supreme. By far, I feel the film’s biggest achievement is its casting. Most of the film’s principal cast members aren’t even actors. Aside from Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A’zion, and Fran Drescher, the rest of the main and supporting cast are not actors, especially since each performer acts like they’ve been doing this for years. The casting is one outrageous, yet remarkable achievement. 

The biggest aspect of Marty Supreme is the performance from Timothée Chalamet. Without him, who knows what this would be. He gives a towering performance filled with passion and energy, yet I don’t think it’s his best performance. It’s nothing short of greatness, especially since Chalamet gives life and soul to Marty, leaving the audience to do nothing but fall in love and root for him. However, his performance in A Complete Unknown blows his performance here out of the water. And maybe, this is just speculation, but I also feel a lot of the praise for his performance comes from the hype he created during the marketing campaign. 

To be honest, the more I think about the performances in Marty Supreme, Chalamet’s isn’t the one I keep thinking about; instead, I find myself deep in thought amazed by Kevin O’Leary’s superb performance. Although he’s basically playing himself, O’Leary brings sinister depth to the character of Milton Rockwell. He’s a decent guy, but when Marty (Chalamet) pushes him one too many times, he snaps. And when he snaps, O’Leary doesn’t go big or grand like Chalamet, but quiet and intimate. He has the power and waits exactly for the right time to use it. If someone were to tell me that I would be thinking about Mr. Wonderful’s performance more than Chalamet’s before I saw the film, I would think they were crazy. 

The supporting performances are fantastic from Odessa A’zion, Gwenyth Paltrow, Abel Ferrara, and Tyler Okonma, yet they didn’t leave the same impact on me as O’Leary or Chalamet. I will say I was a little disappointed by Okonma’s performance. Okonma, or better known by his stage name, Tyler, the Creator, is a very eccentric personality, and while he did bring that same eccentricity to his role as Wally, it wasn’t enough. I still think he gave a great performance, especially for his debut performance. 

The direction from Josh Safdie is impeccable, and the screenplay written by him and Ronald Bronstein is a fantastic fable about the power of ambition and a question as to how far one will go to achieve their dreams. The script is very much like Uncut Gems, in which both are character studies that tell the tale of ambitious men who make terrible decisions, yet leave the audience rooting for them until the very end. 

Overall, Marty Supreme is far from a bad movie; in fact, it’s a great one. Yet, I feel that with all the hype around Chalamet’s performance and the film itself, people are turning it into more than what it actually is. Although it’s better than most of the films released in 2025, it’s over-hype by the film community leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth with a final rating of four out of five stars, or an eight out of ten.