Timothée Chalamet: Part 2

In part because Dune: Part Two just came out, but also because he’s been in a bunch of movies since my last review of his work, it’s time for another Timothée Chalamet appreciation post, complete with an updated ranking of his films.

I’m going to skip descriptions of the movies/performances I’ve already analyzed, but include them in this list so the ranking is clear. Remember, I’m ranking Timothée’s performances in these films, not the films themselves. Also, there are some spoilers, so beware.

Starting at the bottom, we still have:

21. Young Sam in Worst Friends (2014)
20. Danny Vance in Men, Women & Children (2014)
19. Young Tom Cooper in Interstellar (2014)
18. Private Philippe De Jardin in Hostiles (2017)
17. Charlie Cooper in Love the Coopers (2015)
16. Teenage Stephen Elliott in The Adderall Diaries (2015)
15. Gatsby Welles in A Rainy Day in New York (2019)
14. Kyle Scheible in Lady Bird (2017)

Followed by…

13. Zeffirelli in The French Dispatch (2021)

As you may know, Wes Anderson makes weird movies. The French Dispatch is no exception, and I can’t say I remember all that much of it now, but I was entertained by this iconic scene with Timothée and Frances McDormand, which leads to the characters’ eventual affair (that ultimately fizzles out). Timothée does a great job of playing the innocent activist college student, who creates humor by showing us his naivete. I think the best way to appreciate his performance is by watching the clip above, but someone also made this chaotic compilation, if you want to see more of his scenes. I also think my relatively low ranking of this performance has more to do with the script, and the fact that his character isn’t designed to show a ton of range.

12. Yule in Don’t Look Up (2021)

If you read my last TC post, you’ll know that most of his performances are great, and I’ve enjoyed most of his movies, so this relatively low ranking is again just an indication of how excellent his other performances are. He has a smaller role in Don’t Look Up than Dispatch (both of which, incidentally, reference a comet coming to destroy earth and comment on the ways media affect what people think), and again, the character isn’t designed to show a lot of range. But, he plays the moron so well. Yule is just hilarious, and hopefully you can see why in this compilation.

11. Billy Mitman in Miss Stevens (2016)

10. Zac in One & Two (2015)

9. Daniel Middleton in Hot Summer Nights (2017)

8. Paul Atreides in Dune (2021)

It’s hard not to rank this movie high up on the list because Timothée is the leading man, but this is also what puts his first Dune movie so low; we see enough of him to notice when he’s not nailing it, and as much as it pains me to say it, there are a few moments in the film where he’s not at 100 percent, in my opinion (like when he runs to Thufir when they arrive on Arrakis, I don’t know; seems a little too immature). That said, he takes to this new level of sci-fi with relative ease, and perfectly brings Frank Herbert’s character to life in several scenes, like this one with the Gom Jabbar. As you might have read in my Dune Post about all the books and adaptations of the series, I was also impressed by Timothée’s fight sequences with Josh Brolin (Gurney) and Babs Olusanmokun (Jamis).

This is honestly tied with his performance as…

7. Hal/King Henry V in The King (2019)

and followed narrowly by:

6. Theodore “Laurie” Laurence in Little Women (2019)

which means Timmy’s top 5 performances (in my mind) begins with:

5. Elio Perlman in Call Me By Your Name (2017)

which got Timothée his first Golden Globe nomination, and a bunch of other awards, but for me has been dethroned by…

4. Lee in Bones & All (2022)

I put this movie ahead of CMBYN because it seemed more original and gave Timothée more room to play something different. Like CMBYN, this movie is hard for me to like, but it’s so well done, and Timmy’s death scene is again, heartbreaking (and also really bloody and gross, so playing emotion through that has got to be a significant skill). Who knew a cannibal could be so sweet!

3. Paul Atreides/Muad’Dib in Dune: Part Two (2024)

Again, you should read The Dune Post I made last week, but this movie is truly a testament to Timothée’s commitment to his craft. I will never forget the moment he becomes the Lisan al-Gaib, nor his Chakobsa war cry, translated as “Long live the fighters!” Being able to convey such power and transformation while reciting a monologue in a made-up language is of course admirable, but Timothée is also so good at the subtler moments, like when he tells Chani and the others that he can’t go South, where he gives that very speech; in that moment of decision (and others that come before), you can see how conflicted he is, how much it pains him to become what he hates just to (spoiler alert for the future movie/book) extend Chani’s life. While to moviegoers he may seem to change into a power hungry white savior type (and his villain era is coming), ultimately everything he does is for Chani, and the fact that Timothée can play that without actually revealing it already is beautiful.

I mention Timothée’s fight scene with Austin Butler as Feyd and how he interacts with Chani throughout it in The Dune Post, but I want to add a note here about his final moment with Christopher Walken as the emperor: the crazed look in his eyes post-battle and the way he stomps when the emperor refuses to express fealty by kissing the ring on his outstretched hand is perfectly played and accurate to the character Herbert created. I get chills just thinking about it.

And I can’t leave out the way he kills the Baron! Although Paul is not the one to kill him in the books, this change makes sense in the context of the movie as a whole, and gives Timothée another opportunity to just crush it in a quiet but deadly scene that fills the room with the power of Muad’Dib. Go see this movie if you haven’t already (or go see it again)!

2. Willy in Wonka (2023)

Are you surprised this kids’ movie musical made it this far? Hear me out: in the OG Timmy post, I referenced his terrible singing in A Rainy Day in New York (which is slightly improved in his SNL skits, linked below), yet he has now starred in a musical and is scheduled to start filming the much awaited Bob Dylan biopic at the end of this month. Sure, actors with sub-par singing skills have starred in musicals before (see Russell Crowe in Les Misérables, sorry sir), but Timmy’s have actually improved so much that I was truly impressed. Plus, as he’s said in multiple interviews, making kids movies and acting alongside child actors requires a lot more “up” than adult movies (he also said he only wants to make kids movies now because he had so much fun, which is adorable but also hopefully not true because he’s fantastic in adult dramas and more). Wonka is just so different from what Timmy’s done so far, and his transition into this genre is so successful, I have to give this performance such high praise. And it’s not just me—he was nominated for a Golden Globe for it!

However…

Beautiful Boy is still number one.

I’ve said it before and I’ll write it here: when Timothée expresses grief or anger, his acting shoots into high gear, and always shakes me to my core. I haven’t seen this movie in years but I just watched this compilation and got wrecked all over again, so, proceed at your own risk (especially if you know people who have struggled with addiction). This movie is so underrated!! And if you’re not sold on it yet, maybe watch this featurette with the actors and the real people the movie is inspired by. This was also the role that got Timmy his second Golden Globe nomination (for supporting actor, because when you’re a young actor onscreen with Steve Carell, you can’t have top billing 🙄) .

Whether you agree with my analysis/observations/rankings, or my opinions incite your own counter-post (or you’re thinking, why the heck did I just read all that), I hope you too can appreciate Timothée Chalamet and his acting as much as I do.

Until next time, enjoy this “Bad Lip Reading” of Dune and this playlist of all of Timmy’s SNL skits (if I missed one, let me know, but the gems are on there).