Timothée Chalamet's 'Marty Supreme' Review: An Ugly Transformation for Oscar Gold

The world's prettiest movie star just got ugly. And it might be the smartest move of his career. Fresh out of its secret screening at the New York Film Festival, Josh Safdie's ‘Marty Supreme’ is already generating serious award season buzz. At 29 years old, Timothée Chalamet has already been twice nominated for Best Actor—for 'Call Me By Your Name' and the Bob Dylan biopic 'A Complete Unknown'—and has been open about his ambition for an Oscar.

Trading Glamour for Grit

In 'Marty Supreme,' Chalamet tries a new tactic by roughing up his famous face with prosthetic pockmarks, pimples, and a squirmy mustache. It’s a classic awards play. Look to Nicole Kidman in 'The Hours' or Brendan Fraser in 'The Whale'; prominent physical transformations can pay off big. The makeover shatters his movie-star aura, allowing him to fully embody a less glamorous and downright despicable New York character.

The Spiritual Successor to 'Uncut Gems'

'Marty Supreme' is 'Uncut Gems'’ pesky sibling picture. After the massive success of their last film, brothers Josh and Benny Safdie parted ways for solo projects. While Benny's MMA drama 'The Smashing Machine' was seen as underwhelming, Josh found inspiration in the story of table tennis champion Marty Reisman, reimagining him as a Scorsese-like punk named Marty Mauser.

Played by Chalamet, Marty is a legend in his own mind who will do anything to scrape together the cash for a plane ticket to an overseas championship. There’s a clear connective tissue between Adam Sandler's Howard Ratner and Chalamet’s Marty. Both are cut from the same cloth of anxiety-fueled survival, always on the run and always running their mouths.

A Symphony of Scoundrels

While Chalamet will lead the Oscar conversation, the entire production is sensational. The ensemble cast—featuring Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A'zion, and a menacing Abel Ferrara—breathes life into Marty's world. The score by Daniel Lopatin (who also scored 'Good Time') is smartly anachronistic, using ‘80s-style synth for a film set in the 1950s, adding a pulse-pounding, timeless energy.