Timothée Chalamet starred in two recent major film releases, Dune and The French Dispatch, reaffirming his status as Hollywood’s golden boy.

If you haven’t been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of Timothée Chalamet, the 25-year-old who’s taking the cinema world by storm.

Widely known for his roles in critically acclaimed works such as Call Me By Your Name and Little Women, Chalamet is not new to the Hollywood scene. And, considering the vast number of productions he’s currently working on, he doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. Then again, what else would you expect from someone who received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor at only 22 years of age?

timothée chalamet’s performance in beautiful boy is a masterpiece retweet if you agree pic.twitter.com/gMQGlZMEFQ

— musetta – timothée chalamet daily (@Musetta_May) November 17, 2021

His latest performances as Paul Atreides in Denis Villeneuve’s highly anticipated Dune, and as Zeffirelli in Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, have landed him a spot at the centre of “one of the year’s strongest box office weekends”, according to Indie Wire.

But do these two films live up to their hype?

(Possible spoilers ahead)

Dune

Rating: 3.5/5

Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 literary classic tells the first part of the story of Paul Atreides who, alongside his family, is sent to the daunting desert planet of Arrakis. Their mission is to harvest the planet’s most valuable mineral, Spice – a fundamental substance for interstellar travel and control of the universe. It is soon made clear that this will be no easy task, though, since the Atreides House must deal with the Fremen (the indigenous people of Arrakis), as well as the Harkonnen House, the planet’s previous stewards who are thirsty for revenge.

The magical work of Hans Zimmer, who composed the film’s soundtrack, stood out to me the most. The use of chills-inducing vocals and whispers, accompanied by rhythmic percussion segments, truly allows you to immerse yourself in this fantasy world and keeps you on the edge of your seat for the entire duration of the film.

Villeneuve was able to bring to life Herbert’s world in the most beautiful way, with breathtaking landscapes and cinematography.

As for the man of the hour, Chalamet delivered a stunning performance as main character Paul. He’s able to portray the raw feelings of a boy who’s responsible for the future of Arrakis and his people, and who’s forced to come to terms with his destiny as the Fremen’s Messiah and the inevitability of a greater political war.

Acting opposite Rebecca Ferguson, who plays Paul’s mother Lady Jessica, both actors easily managed to illustrate the characters’ loving, yet delicate relationship, clouded by the latter’s secrecy over her son’s fate. Paul’s suppressed feelings of self-doubt reach their climax after the Harkonnens attack the Atreides House in Arrakis, forcing him and Lady Jessica to escape into the desert.

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Both grieving the death of Paul’s father, Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac), Chalamet and Ferguson beautifully depict their characters’ vulnerability and loss in that moment.

The film is, however, arguably slow-paced. It feels as if it lacks action, though considering it is an adaptation of the book’s first part, that sounds reasonable. There’s only so much you can change that can be passed off as artistic license.

It definitely sets the scene for what’s to come, by providing context and introducing the main characters of part two – including Zendaya’s character, Chani. In her own words, “this is only the beginning” – and it sure felt like it.

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The French Dispatch

Rating: 5/5

Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch depicts the stories written by four different journalists for the American magazine of the same name, set in the fictional French city of Ennui-sur-Blasé.

Herbsaint Sazerac (Owen Wilson), J.K.L. Berensen (Tilda Swinton), Lucinda Krementz (Frances McDormand) and Roebuck Wright (Jeffrey Wright) each narrate a different story for the various magazine segments.

The all-star cast sure gives you something to look forward to, with appearances by Bill Murray as the newspaper’s editor, Benicio Del Toro as an imprisoned artist, Adrien Brody as an art dealer and manager and, of course, Timothée Chalamet as a poetic young chess prodigy, leader of a student revolution.

And if that’s not enough to leave you starstruck, the sheer brilliance of the cinematography surely will. Anderson’s eye for symmetry, the use of colour in key parts of the film, and the mix between live-action acting and cartoons, result in an attention grabbing, aesthetically pleasing and visually stunning masterpiece.

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Lightheaded after watching the whirligig that is The French Dispatch. The impossibly detailed, painstakingly patterned visuals; Alexandre Desplat’s delicately persistent score; the intoxicating love of language, as befits a film that acts as an ode to print journalism. Très bien!

— Jamie Graham (@jamie_graham9) October 21, 2021

I was also delighted by the lighthearted, classical and even funky score, presented in juxtaposition with emotionally packed stories, ranging from deranged love, to freedom-seeking revolutionaries and a restless kidnapping case.

The performances are outstanding. Every actor is able to, in the short time allotted to their own chronicle, bring to life their characters’ stories in an interesting and relatable manner, with just enough dry humour to leave you satisfied.

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You’d think merging three different main plots, plus Sazerac’s traveling introduction, would be too much to keep up with. Yet, that’s not the case at all. The film was fast-paced, but it didn’t feel rushed in any way.

Overall, it was a beautiful illustration of a The French Dispatch magazine issue, with fantastic performances and mind blowing cinematography.

Timothée Chalamet’s role in these two films attests to his versatility as an actor. In his performances across his very own cinematic universe, he’s constantly able to deliver a unique, raw and heartfelt portrayal of his characters’ emotions, struggles and joys. This is something which he particularly excelled at when playing the role of a troubled son with a drug addiction, Nic Sheff, in Beautiful Boy, at only 22 years old. He is a fresh, young face in the Hollywood scene, and is sure to be acclaimed one of the greatest actors of his generation.