Best Actor 2025: Results

5. Michael B. Jordan in Sinners - Jordan effectively carries his film in two separate ways one through charisma and one through stoic conviction. 

Best Scene: Epilogue.

4. Ethan Hawke in Blue Moon - Hawke gives his most showoff performance to date, and I found it largely effective as the showoff yet sorrowful Lorenz Hart. 

Best Scene: Argument with Rodgers.  

3. Wagner Moura in The Secret Agent - Moura gives a subdued and moving depiction essentially of one normal man trying to live in a mad time.

Best Scene: Testimony

2. Leonardo DiCaprio in One Battle After Another - DiCaprio delivers one of his best performances that manages to be both a very funny and moving journey from revolutionary to burnout dad. 

Best Scene: In the car with Sensei. 

1. Timothée Chalamet in Marty Supreme - Good predictions Kevin, Robert, Tim & John Smith. Chalamet is a live wire of cinematic charisma in delivering a captivating yet challenging depiction of one man's ego and ambition. 

Best Scene: Final game. 

Next: 2025 alternate supporting. 

Best Actor 2025: Timothée Chalamet in Marty Supreme

Timothée Chalamet received his third acting Oscar nomination for portraying Marty Mauser in Marty Supreme. 

Marty Supreme follows the endeavors of a ping pong player who wants to be the greatest in the world. 

Timothée Chalamet is one of the few genuine movie stars in the making, in terms of there actually being an innate degree of bankability, as Dune might’ve been already a noted property, Wonka was no guarantee, A Complete Unknown could’ve done far less, but I’d say really the success of this film more than any other given the film was built almost entirely his name, and such a period/character piece without a sent of superhero anywhere near it makes its box-office haul so far most impressive. All the more impressive because it is distinctly a character piece and a continuation of the Safdie style (Now solo Josh) protagonist though holding the similarity of Robert Pattinson’s Connie Nikas, and Adam Sandler’s Howard Ratner, where their traditional likability is more than in question and their favorite habit is to dig to get out of a hole, creating much more so a 70’s style protagonist we follow through the film. Chalamet’s Marty though is distinctly his own beast and its own specific representation of the talent of the actor in question. Where Pattinson’s performance was a proof of talent beyond dispute, Sandler’s was a use of talent often not in use, Marty is a step, or perhaps pedestal, within the already clear ladder of Chalamet as an awards and box-office magnet. In fact Marty in a way can be a representative of so much of Chalamet, though not to the point I think this is in any way someone playing themselves, but in terms of channeling the clear aspect of someone’s personality as part of the fuel that helps to define the character. 

Chalamet comes into the role with absolute commitment but also absolute ease in very much giving a kind of charge to a performance that is so distinct and too often not seen. Where Chalamet is empowered with his immense talent, which I don’t mind saying despite his sometimes polarizing offscreen personality, which crackles within Marty right off the opening frame though will be utilized in so many different ways throughout. Our introduction begins with Marty as a shoes salesman in New York and in a way Chalamet brings a specific slightly reduced charisma, although still remarkable, where you see the sense of his talents as he talks a lady through the right type of shoe to buy with a confidence but also the casual consideration of someone who makes the customer seem at home with their shoes. Although his attention is soon diverted by his married childhood friend Rachel (Odessa A’Zion) entering the shop, where we get the quick switch to the false salesman cordiality to this “returning customer” which is all with the same ease of Chalamet, until we get a bit more honesty through a bit of dishonesty from Marty as he’s only meeting with her in the backroom to have sex. Where the defining feature is lust for the both of them and Chalamet’s delivery of how Rachel should come with him is in the total throws of someone just deeply in that lust without probably not too much thought, given as we lead into the opening credits that is literally the end result of Marty perhaps thinking with the paddle in his pants without a second thought to the consequences. 

We soon follow the next layer of Marty which is as the "businessman" Marty where we see him with his Uncle, who owns the shoe store, wanting Marty to become manager and focus on this career rather than focus on Marty’s real dream of becoming the world's greatest ping pong player. Where Chalamet is great in the moment in essentially bringing this certain exasperation with his uncle over the situation, creating the sense that he’s had this conversation too many times with his Uncle differing between his dreams and what his uncle thinks is a sensible ambition, but even more so what Marty has tried to get away with. As Marty asks for the 700 dollars for his plane ticket to get to the table tennis tournament, it is again with this fake apology in Chalamet’s delivery that he's a genius as though there’s an explanation within it and an excuse to each that his Uncle never quite buys. Contrasting that though is his conversation with his friend Dion (Luke Manley) with Dion’s businessman father, over the potential of orange Marty Supreme balls as a kind of promotion. Chalamet’s wonderful pitch in bringing a certain comedic energy in the oversell of pinpointing how important a new color in ping pong is though with this intensity of passion that it is not hard to buy at a certain level. Where we get kind of the first instance of Marty “buying his own shit” for the lack of a better description, where Chalamet fashions this specific way of speaking in these moments where it delivers them as though they are the personal mantras Marty has memorized in the morning as he predicts he’ll be on the cover of a Wheaties box someday. A repeated tone we get a few times throughout the film to various people where he espouses his yearn for greatness and the conviction. Although Marty will at different places in his life, each relapse to this tone is of a mantra Marty has spent years perfecting. 

While we are still in New York we get a brief sense of his relationship with his mother (Fran Drescher) which a lot of time isn’t spent on however I think it is an example of where one can depend on their actors to quickly sell the relationship and tension therein. Where we see Marty’s mother throughout the film trying to get his attention, going so far as to pretend she’s sick, and Chalamet’s reaction each time speaks not to months of this but years of that. In the immediacy of the exasperation and the fact that there isn’t for a second where he believes his mother. We don’t see hatred exactly but just this instant disappointment with mother every time that he quickly glances over to her. Where we see just how burnt this relationship is in every respect and the history of the two that goes beyond far from what we see. Speaking of burning bridges Marty goes about getting his money by holding his coworker at the shoe shop to give him the money he feels he’s owed. Chalamet is amazing in the scene where we see the start of Marty’s greatest hubris, where his whole manner in the approach is with the directness of someone who feels they can make no mistake. Even going so far as to persuade the man by first saying it’s twisted that he’d be made manager of the store over him or to blame him as an armed thief. Chalamet delivers both with the confidence of someone who knows he will be traveling to fame and fortune in England for the ping pong championship. 

In England we have Marty at his most extreme, something Chalamet wholly owns and is magnificent in just essentially playing to the Icarus note of a man flying way too close to the sun. Something we get immediately with the ego he just is weaponizing in different ways. The first in demanding that the hosting official give him more expensive lodgings with the Marty negotiation tactic of arguing his own importance which Chalamet sells with the most boldface belief in himself, though not as an underdog but as just basically the ultimate dog. Something to be fair to a certain extent we can see when he is playing and we see him dominate his official games and Chalamet’s performance in every game in the film is essential. As these first games it is with determination but also a breezy assurance of someone who absolutely believes he’s unstoppable. A confidence that only expands as we see him interviewed by the local press, where Chalamet’s performance is an incredible bit of almost a conductor of his environment. Where his delivery of his totally false backstory is run out like a 100% pure perfect liar. His fake bit of false sleeping when asked about his past, is an exceptional bit of physical work just illustrating the livewire of energy that is Marty. Along with his totally inappropriate bit about finishing off his next opponent reigning champion Bela Kletzki (Géza Röhrig), and holocaust survivor, where in that glint in Chalamet’s eyes you see the combination of provocateur and promoter, who wants to play into the heel angle with a sense of fun but also a sense of not quite knowing his limit. 

The lack of limit only goes further as he spots famous, though past her prime, actress Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow), where Marty’s hubris essentially only grows as he purposefully calls her to get her attention and to also brag about himself. Chalamet is great in the scene though in finding this perfect blend between charm and wholly being a pest as he talks to her. As he manages to put this wild mix between his intrigue, the playfulness of each question to her, and even the pronouncement of himself as being a celebrity himself, which he is in his mind. Even the way Chalamet speaks into the phone brings the impish quality of Marty alive as someone who believes himself on top of the world. Which to Marty he seemingly is as we see him play at again Kletzki so well that he even takes a moment to do a playful serve round where the two do various trick shots. Chalamet is amazing in the scene because you do see the exhilaration of Marty’s mastery in the moment, but more importantly we do see very much the showmanship of the moment. Chalamet is very entertaining as Marty in this scene in doing every little over the top of bit that manages to be both silly while showing off the considerable talents of Marty in this particular field, which as boon Kay Stone also watches the performance much to her delight. 

Along with Kay, Marty also purposefully also calls for the attention of her husband pen businessman Milton Rockwell (Kevin O’Leary), by buying their dinner while Marty himself is dining with Kletzki. A series of contrasts as we get the beautifully humble man that is Kletzki, who you can see is just happy to be alive in many ways against Marty, where Chalamet is beautifully still in full self-absorption mode which is particularly hilarious when he shamelessly claims how he cares so much about pens towards Rockwell, which Rockwell does not buy though does become somewhat intrigued by the apparent success of table tennis to some degree as Kletzki recounts his own tale of being given “lighter” duty in the holocaust due to the game. And I love the quick chemistry between Chalamet and Röhrig, where the latter is just appreciating a new friend, where Chalamet does tip toe around some genuine appreciation for the guy while also still playing up the heel and always downplaying the guy’s heel which Keltzki takes with good humor. As we get to the peak of Marty’s ego though as Kay comes to see him for sex in the night, and Chalamet’s reaction in this scene is an extraordinary depiction of pure uncontrolled ego. As we do get a brief reaction of “can’t believe this happening” but the key is where he looks at himself in the mirror instead of at Kay, and where he conveys Marty fully believing himself to be on top of the world in every respect. 

Which Marty hits a wall in that respect as he meets his most severe competition in Japanese player Endo (Koto Kawaguchi), where the game is completely different now articulated brilliantly in Chalamet’s performance, which was all about floating about the competition here now it is genuine and we see every bit of effort and frustration. Chalamet shows the building up intensity of the man who thought he was the best being hit consistently with the thought that he’s not, and you see specifically in his eyes the ego clashing with the notion that only infuriates him all the more. Till he loses completely and Chalamet unleashes the disbelief fitting the size of Marty’s ego in the moment of a volcanic rage not unlike John McEnroe where none of it is at himself, it is all at everything else for why he lost. The burnout only continues back in New York where Rockwell presents him an opportunity to play a fixed exhibition game with Endo, to which Chalamet brings the stinging anger of the loss, along with the ego bruised however in delivering the words in with a bit more ire as he rejects Rockwell’s offer, with really his demand that he buy him a meal with the venom of someone who truly can’t help himself. Which only continues as his Uncle immediately has him arrested/fake arrested to get Marty to settle down, where Chalamet is most evoking previous Safdie leads in getting that extremely specific anxiety inducing tension of just getting in and out of the argument so naturally in this incredible state of messy frustrations….that results in Marty loses any money he had and running from his uncle/police to find his own way to the world competition. 

We follow them as Marty attempts to find some way of getting his money. His first option teaming up with his fellow tennis player friend Wally (Tyler Okonma) who have such great chemistry that honestly they could’ve made just the film a series of hustles from the two and that would also have been an amazing film. Instead we get one hustle, where Chalamet’s terrific in playing the part of a different type of hectoring person as just the constantly annoyed guy wanting to play table tennis and frustrated by everything. A wholly different kind of frustration and desire even to play, and where physically I love how awkward he positions himself at the table in the setup, as he presents himself as an obnoxious racist towards Wally, where the two build up a crowd to get them to make a big bet to prove this fake version of Marty wrong. The two create the natural juggle of the circumstances and make it wholly believable that the hustle would work. Followed by the sheer joy of the two as they run along Wally’s car without gas, and Chalamet brings such a winning delightful sense of the friendship with Marty and Wally along with just the sheer jubilation of their triumph…which doesn't last too long as they need to make a hasty escape when their marks catch them driving off together. 

While all this is going on, Marty finds Rachel now quite pregnant with his child, and we see him juggling with her too where I think Chalamet balances a sense of the complication within the relationship. As you see him going through his head moments of interacting with her with hesitation to being held down by her advances, yet his passionate charge when defending from her oaf husband (Emory Cohen) does have a sincerity, and even at his most dismissive, Chalamet brings a great nuance of Marty fighting with himself in these moments to what degree he will allow himself to feel towards her. What we see though, as the two attempt to retrieve a potential money avenue from Abel Ferrara, which one should never try to get money from Abel Ferrara, by finding his dog that Marty lost after promising to take the dog to the vet. Although in this endeavor we get a deeper chemistry between Chalamet and A’Zion, where you see in their mutual conning ability, or attempting to con ability, a connective energy where in a way she’s perfect for him. Something that becomes more clear when it is even revealed that she made up a black eye from her husband just to get Marty’s attention. I love Chalamet’s subdued reaction that isn’t rage, rather almost respect for the play as it is 100% something Marty would do. But even with the trick, his feelings towards her are tested when Ferrara threatens her with violence unless they show him where his dog is, which leads to her being wounded in the interaction and takes her to emergency surgery in the hospital. Where Chalamet is great in these moments shows more directness of love towards her then the rest, yet still with just enough hesitation of the ambitious Marty who can’t go all the way in this relationship. 

Marty’s last option for a way to the tournament is between the wife and husband of Kay and Rockwell. The former where we get a bit more sexual encounters and each time, Chalamet showing very much Marty’s acceptance of being the sex objection for her desires while playing up just being the show of it. Which almost works as she offers him a valuable necklace, which sadly quickly must be used to pay off cops who catch them having sex in the park, leading to Chalamet’s absolutely hilarious delivery of shamelessly just asking for another one as though absolutely nothing had happened. Which due to her own personal comeback falling apart, she can’t be reached, leaving only Rockwell, where once before Marty ticked him off more by trying to get a meeting by lying about knowing his dead son, where Chalamet’s performance brings a slight bit of humility, not much, in trying to apologize for his actions, which Rockwell doesn't accept. But on the same night as failing to get the necklace with Kay, Rockwell appears to be the only option for him. Chalamet’s outstanding as basically losing all the ego and just such emotional desperation as Marty throws himself essentially on the mercy of the court of Rockwell. Chalamet’s running from one apology to the next, at Rockwell’s demand, is just such a point in seeing Marty very much of the earth in this moment and not a hint of hubris. Chalamet articulates every bit of humility coming out of Marty, which he shows so effectively as basically a painful experience of a man whose nature is opposed to such an idea. Which sadly for Marty, ends with a literal paddling of his naked behind by Rockwell as a punishment in order for Marty to get a trip to Japan and fees for the show with Endo. 

Where we get a showcase for Chalamet where we get a different heightened version of Marty, from the actually pompous Marty of earlier, as now we get the glimpse of his playing the “pompous American” to the Japanese crowd, emphasizing a purposeful heel attitude in every movement and expression. Wonderfully playing each bit of the oversell and being essentially the “fool” that everyone wants him to be, especially Rockwell who is getting a bit too much joy out of Marty looking the fool as he loses to Endo in a fixed game. We see Marty willingly accept the humiliations, even though due to failing to pay a fee to the organization won’t even be in the actual competition, until there is an extra wrinkle of demanding that Marty also kiss a pig in front of the crowd. Chalamet’s reaction is great as we see the humbled in many ways Marty reflecting to himself and finding just essentially the breaking point. Making one more break that will get him in trouble, but Chalamet importantly conveys a difference in this act as he tries to get the crowd to demand an actual game. Chalamet’s amazing as he manages to balance a sense of some modesty and we see a different more empathetic passion as he pleads for the real game. Which Endo agrees to, and Chalamet’s performance throughout is exceptional. Capturing every dramatic bit largely in his physical work where everything he is doing is filled with determination and the sense in his eyes the ferocity needed to prove himself in this moment, even though it only truly has meaning to him and Endo. Building along with the editing, and music the tension towards the victory, where Chalamet makes you feel every step and makes Marty is most likeable in this moment where Marty is purely playing for the spirit of the game. And though a quick moment, an essential one is after winning, his wish of good luck to Endo in the actual tournament is delivered with absolute sincerity, though combined with the edge of sadness of someone who knows he won’t be there. Speaking of a combination of emotions, the final moment of the film is Marty returning home after Rachel has given birth seemingly accepting his responsibilities as a father. An extraordinary scene for Chalamet as he manages to allow for interpretation while not being vague in the least in the scene of Marty’s reaction to his child. As his reaction is so deeply profound as we see Marty looking as a child, there is joy, happiness, yet his tears speak to an existential sorrow of seeing what his future will be, which is this child not the “greatness” he believed in. It should be clear by this point that I love everything about this performance, which is a live wire of star charisma, packed in such a captivating character,  where he creates such compelling dynamics throughout the film and crafts a potent portrait of the rise and fall of the dream of one man. I never thought Chalamet was untalented, in fact I have been previously impressed, and yet he even surprised me here with just the way he grips the screen and doesn’t let go of it for even a second. 

Best Actor 2025

And the Nominees Are:

Leonardo DiCaprio in One Battle After Another

Michael B. Jordan in Sinners

Timothée Chalamet in Marty Supreme

Wagner Moura in The Secret Agent

Ethan Hawke in Blue Moon

Alternate Best Actor 2024: Results

10. Keith Kupferer in Ghostlight - Kupferer gives a convincing and very moving portrayal of a man finding a healthy way to release his pent up trauma. 

Best Scene: Court deposition. 

9. Hugh Grant in Heretic - Grant elevates the entirety of the film just through his off-beat deliveries and quietly chilling moments. 

Best Scene: Monopoly. 

8. Daniel Zovatto in Woman of the Hour - Zovatto gives a terrifying performance by convincingly portraying both the false charm and brutal cruelty of his serial killer. 

Best Scene: Letting a victim live. 

7. Jesse Plemons in Kinds of Kindness - Plemons artfully manages the film's unique tone to deliver on the deadpan comedy along but with some genuine emotion buried within that. 

Best Scene: Twisted request.

6. Timothée Chalamet in Dune Part II - Chalamet gives a properly charismatic hero's journey for much of the film but then takes it to the next level by twisting it into something nefarious by the end of the film. 

Best Scene: Rallying the Fremen. 

5. George MacKay in The Beast - MacKay gives multiple compelling performances, including a wholly convincing portrayal of repression and a terrifyingly convincing portrayal of the build up of a psychotic. 

Best Scene: First vlog. 

4. Josh O'Connor in Challengers - O'Connor gives a dynamic portrayal of one part of a love triangle, with a particularly effective weaponization of charisma both when it works and when it doesn't.

Best Scene: Failing to get a room. 

3. Nicholas Hoult in Nosferatu - Hoult takes the traditionally thankless role of Jonathan Harker (here named Thomas Hutter) and running it through his sheer acting talent by making the emotional and actual horror he goes through so brutally real. 

Best Scene: Ending. 

2. Cillian Murphy in Small Things Like These - Murphy delivers such a modest yet wholly impactful portrayal of a man slowly committing to action and living up to his empathy. 

Best Scene: Choosing to help. 

1. Sebastian Stan in A Different Man - Good predictions Tony, Lucas, Robert, Matt, Tahmeed, A, Ytrewq, Luke, 8000's, Jonathan & Brazinterma. Stan easily tops this list for me, despite loving many other performances. Stan gave the only performance that gave me any doubt on who my #1 should be. As Stan through his entire output in 2024 has proven to be an immense talent. Here giving such a dynamic, tangible but also hilarious realization of a one of a kind journey for a character. 

Best Scene: Pretending to be Oswald. 

Overall Ranking:

1. Adrien Brody in The Brutalist
2. Sebastian Stan in A Different Man
3. Colman Domingo in Sing Sing
4. Cillian Murphy in Small Things Like These
5. Sebastian Stan in The Apprentice
6. Nicholas Hoult in Nosferatu
7. Josh O'Connor in Challengers
8. Mike Faist in Challengers
9. George MacKay in The Beast
10. Timothée Chalamet in Dune Part II - 5
11. Ralph Fiennes in Conclave
12. Jesse Plemons in Kinds of Kindness
13. Daniel Zovatto in Woman of the Hour
14. Hugh Grant in Heretic
15. Keith Kupferer in Ghostlight 
16. Lars Eidinger in Dying
17. Nicholas Hoult in The Order
18. Joseph Quinn in A Quiet Place Day One
19. Brian Tyree Henry in The Fire Inside
20. Izaac Wang in Didi 
21. John Magaro in September 5
22. Brandon Wilson in Nickle Boys
23. Ethan Herisse in Nickle Boys - 4.5
    
24. Daniel Craig in Queer
25. Kyle Gallner in Strange Darling
26. Missagh Zareh  in The Seed of the Sacred Fig
27. James Le Gros in Good One
28. Andrew Garfield in We Live in Time
29. Josh Hartnett in Trap
30. Lakshya in Kill 
31. Jude Law in The Order
32. Jason Schwartzman in Between The Temples
33. Michael Keaton in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice 
34. Jesse Eisenberg in A Real Pain
35. Dev Patel in Monkey Man
36. Putthipong "Billkin" Assaratanakul  in How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies
37. Nicholas Hoult in Juror No. 2
38. Pierre Niney in The Count of Monte Cristo
39. Aaron Pierre in Rebel Ridge 
40. Viggo Mortensen in The Dead Don't Hurt - 4
41. Gabriel LaBelle in Saturday Night
42. Jonno Davies in Better Man
43. Glen Powell in Hit Man
44. Ben Whitehead in Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
45. Kieran Culkin in A Real Pain
46. Owen Teague in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
47. JJ "DJ Próvaí" Ó Dochartaigh in Kneecap
48. Tom Hardy in The Bikeriders
49. Austin Butler in The Bikeriders
50. Ryan Gosling in The Fall Guy
    
51. Tommy Dewey in Your Monster
52. Ben Whishaw in Paddington in Peru
    
53. Brian Tyree Henry in Transformers One
54. Taron Egerton in Carry-On
55. Chris Hemsworth in Transformers One
56. Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool & Wolverine
57. Jake Gyllenhaal in Roadhouse - 3.5
58. Dave Dastmalchian in Late Night With The Devil
59. Raul Briones in La Cocina
60. Egill Ólafsson in Touch
61. Charlie Plummer in National Anthem
62. Glen Powell in Twisters
63. George MacKay in The End
64. Joaquin Phoenix in Joker: Folie a Deux
65. Josh Brolin in Brothers
66. Eddie Peng in Black Dog
67. Paul Mescal in Gladiator II
68. Elliott Heffernan in Blitz
69. Tom Hanks in Here
70. Liam Óg "Mo Chara" Ó Hannaidh in Kneecap
71. Naoise "Móglaí Bap" Ó Cairealláin in Kneecap
72. Timothée Chalamet in A Complete Unknown 
73. Rene Perez in In The Summers - 3
74. Adam Driver in Megalopolis
75. Justice Smith in I Saw the TV Glow
76. Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop: Axle F 
77. Peter Dinklage in Brothers
78. Kelvin Harrison Jr. in Mufasa: The Lion King
79. Aaron Pierre in Mufasa: The Lion King
80. Isaac Krasner in Big Boys
81. Ryland Tews in Hundreds of Beavers - 2.5
    
82. Wagner Moura in Civil War
83. Palmi Kormakur in Touch
84. Julio Torres in Problemista  - 2

Next: 1986 Supporting after the Oscars. 

Alternate Best Actor 2024: Timothée Chalamet in Dune Part II

Timothée Chalamet did not receive an Oscar nomination because he was nominated for a far inferior performance for portraying Paul Atreides in Dune Part II. 

Dune Part II continues the story of the first film where we open with Paul now in the desert of Arrakis with his pregnant mother (Rebecca Ferguson) and guided by the native Fremen including Stilgar (Javier Bardem) and Chani (Zendaya). Where the first film follows Paul through his traditional hero’s journey of the young man who has yet to prove himself by being thrown into hell as his family is destroyed by the villainous Harkonnens. He ended there after proving some minor measure by surviving the attack of the Harkonnen forces and by successfully killing a Fremen who had challenged him to a duel, allowing himself to become part of their group at least tentatively. We pick up just after this as we see Chani and Stilgar now have at least a basic respect for Paul, as essentially they begin learning the proverbial ropes of living in the cruel desert. Chalamet within this aspect brings something I’ll admit I wasn’t sure that he had, which is the certain strong screen presence specific to an action role, particularly after not having been overly impressed by his performance as Henry V in The King. To Chalamet’s credit I entirely forgot about my reservations very quickly here, though part of that might be Chalamet’s build towards achieving this presence much like the way throughout the film we see Paul build his strength in the eyes of the Fremen. Chalamet’s performance is effectively reactionary within the early scenes of learning the teachings of the Fremen where Chalamet actively shows the way that Paul takes in with a keen eye to everything they relate to him. In turn as we see Paul begin to progress in his understanding of the desert and their ways, Chalamet gradually improves this confidence within the action from scene to scene, creating the sense of the man truly learning to be a survivor and warrior in the desert.

Chalamet importantly does not allow himself to get lost within the spectacle rather creates an essential connection within the spectacle by showing this progression of Paul’s skills from one scene to the next. For example when you have the first scene of him and Chani going about taking down an attack copter and a spice mining machine, Chalamet in this first major action scene shows a greater confidence then the opening brief scene of him killing an assassin as nearly a desperate act, now he delivers more precision more confidence, but not too much. There is still much more of an overt fear as he reacts to suddenly losing his cover as he’s about to be shot at and working with Chani with more so an underlying fear that he is holding back. Something that is contrasted against again when we see Paul try to mount a sandworm for time which is one of the most visceral cinematic moments of 2024, and Chalamet’s performance is an important facet to the sequence. Because what we see is basically the building of the legend from the starting place of just a man. As when he’s initially on the worm, Chalamet brings real hesitation, and concern in the steps, showing that it isn’t some easy thing for him in every movement of his work, and only making it look easy once he’s successfully mounted the worm to begin riding it. There Chalamet’s presence truly grows and we too see the power of Paul as we witness him riding the worm and suddenly Chalamet seems like the powerful hero you might believe may be able to destroy the Harkkonnen’s after all. Chalamet portrays this natural growth in confidence within the story making Paul the star of the Fremen, but within the scheme of we watching the film Chalamet making himself the striking presence to lead this epic. 

A natural part of the exploration of the situation is within Chalamet’s chemistry with both Bardem and Zendaya. With Bardem and the other Fremen, you get this sense of growing camaraderie that goes right along with his growing skill level in the desert. There’s an ease that Chalamet grows from scene to scene that is rather wonderful, as he progressively becomes less the outsider largely in just the way he interacts among them, speaks to them and is part of the group. Early on there is more so that separation that distance, even that burden of purpose that weighs upon him. As we see him become one with them Chalamet so effectively alleviates the weight creating an ideal levity and even warmth where you see that he is one of them. That of course is amplified all the more by the romance with Chani, which begins as she doubts him a bit and growing belief in Paul as a person. Chalamet and Zendaya’s chemistry here is winning in creating the dynamic specifically built first on a teaching relationship that the sense of affection in these interactions becomes stronger as they proceed from one scene to the next. They really create the connection so gradually that it feels especially potent and convincing. Although we do get the romantic sweeping moment of the first kiss on the sand dunes, it isn’t one that feels at all forced through the articulation of both performers. That articulation not being the big grand gestures for most of it, but just the ease of their connection that you see their love as just as honest of progression as the rest of their work. 

All of this would be a very good performance, a completely successful star performance, where Chalamet takes ownership of his scenes, creates Paul as the hero you can easily invest in, and never gets lost within the grandeur of Villeneuve’s direction, but there is the key element within the film that makes Chalamet step up to the next level. The next level as both a performer and creating a greater impact and depth in the role of Paul. Because the truth is the journey of Paul is NOT the hero's journey one has come to expect, and many films portrayed that were heavily influenced by the original novel of Dune. As it isn’t just Paul becoming a hero to the Fremen rather it is becoming their literal messiah due to prophecies being seeded by his mother’s religious order the Bene Gesserit. Something that we originally see as a point of discomfort in Chalamet’s performance. Chalamet takes in the information having a certain sense to use it, but also reservations on the literal exploitation of the faith of these people he has been working with. Making things worse for Paul is that he has visions that taking the role of the Messiah while it will lead to his victory will also lead to a genocidal holy war where billions will die. Chalamet I think is great in the maturity he shows in Paul’s reckoning of this, where we saw angst in the first film of the near teenager, we see the maturity of the adult holding in this fear and trying to choose to avoid it. Unfortunately for Paul, eventually by the mechanizations of a new leader for the Harkonnen forces on Arakkis led by Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler) he is pushed into a desperation situation where he needs more powerful forces. Chalamet again is great in portraying the quiet frustration and at first the emotional distress in reacting to the deaths of the people he’s come to love. Chalamet shows that while the end will be terrible, Paul’s initial motivation is brought upon more so by connection to these people than just seeking power. However when Paul seeks the power and takes a transformation fully, Chalamet steps up in a way I frankly didn’t know he had with him. 

Where before he proved a star charisma as we saw Paul makes it as Fremen, when he becomes their messiah, Chalamet becomes the most charismatic of cult leaders. Every scene where Paul comes in to rally his troops, Chalamet is amazing in just the force of personality he projects into every movement and every line. He isn’t someone with a hint of doubt, of hesitation, of reservation, he is exactly what they want to see as he moves about with this grand intention. What is stunning is there is no delusion of grandeur, you simply see the grandeur in Chalamet’s work as he becomes the figure they intend him to be and Chalamet rightly controls every scene through the charisma he brings. A specific charisma that is fascinating because before Chalamet made Paul likable, in these scenes he honestly makes him a bit terrifying because within them you see the potential for this passion and this power to be used for the most terrible of ends. The final confrontation between Paul, the Emperor (Christopher Walken) and the Harkonnens is turned on its head, because it isn’t good triumphing over evil, rather one form of evil triumphing over another. Chalamet is great in the switch in every step as he comes in without any doubt or mercy for that matter when he kills his foes. Even when he threatens the Emperor and decides that he’ll marry his daughter (Florence Pugh) it is with a cutting order of an emperor himself, rather than any hint of the Paul we started with. The only moment where this breaks is his final fight with Feyd-Rautha, where he is almost killed in the knife fight. And what Chalamet does in this sequence is show that below the bravado and the horde of killers behind him, Paul still is flesh and blood and is terrific in the moment of presenting the very real physical pain as he just barely manages to kill his opponent, taking even two severe wounds from the challenge. However not even that creates modesty to Paul, as he vanquishes his foe we return to a stare now that isn’t of righteous revenge, but terrible ambition. Chalamet gives an incredible performance here, because it is a proper star turn, he carries the epic with a natural ease, but he goes so much further than that. Taking Paul’s journey successfully to the darker path, accentuating all the more because he makes us believe first in Paul the hero, only to make it all the more impactful when he subverts the most basic notion of that by revealing that this was a villain origin story the whole time. 

Alternate Best Actor 2024

And the Nominees Were Not:

Sebastian Stan in A Different Man

Timothée Chalamet in Dune Part II

Jesse Plemons in Kinds of Kindness

George MacKay in The Beast
 

Hugh Grant in Heretic

Feel free to predict these five, those five or both.

Cillian Murphy in Small Things Like These

Josh O'Connor in Challengers

Daniel Zovatto in Woman of the Hour

Keith Kupferer in Ghostlight

Nicholas Hoult in Nosferatu

Best Actor 2024: Results

 5. Timothée Chalamet in A Complete Unknown - Chalamet gives a pretty hard to believe impression that leaves Dylan as a mystery that it doesn't even seem he knows the truths of. His musical performances are fine, albeit unspectacular, at least.

Best Scene: One of the songs I guess.

4. Ralph Fiennes in Conclave - Fiennes elevates every moment of his potboiler and brings an emotional honesty to an often very silly film that takes itself very seriously. 

Best Scene: Confronting Aldo about Tremblay

3. Sebastian Stan in The Apprentice - A very close #3/#2  because I think both are great in very different ways. Stan delivering on tremendous challenge of playing Trump without falling into caricature. Instead artfully builds towards the Trump we know, while also successfully showing the steps into corruption. 

Best Scene: After his brother's death. 

2. Colman Domingo in Sing Sing - Domingo gives such soulful and genuine work in portraying such endearing and infectious energy for the healing power of acting. Finding that though with a moving portrayal of the weight of living behind bars for a crime you know you didn't commit. 

Best Scene: Parole hearing.

1. Adrien Brody in The Brutalist - Good predictions Anonymous, Calvin, Lucas, Michael McCarthy, Emi Grant, Maciej, Harris & Perfectionist. But as much as I loved Stan and Domingo, there was no competition for me here in Brody just giving one of those performances where you just feel you meet this person, every bit of his complicated traumatic history, and through every bit of his life including his ambition, his moments of joy, and his many moments of intense hardship.  

Best Scene: Car breakdown. 

Next: 2024 alternate supporting.  

Best Actor 2024: Timothée Chalamet in A Complete Unknown

Timothée Chalamet received his second Oscar nomination for portraying Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. 

A Complete Unknown is largely your run of the mill musician biopic this time about Bob Dylan. 

Timothée Chalamet has been making a name for himself as both an actor and a movie star. Taking the momentum from his Oscar nominated role in Call Me By Your Name right to several other daring roles or at least collaborations with remarkable filmmakers. Chalamet continued this trend in 2024 with his blockbuster performance in Dune Part II, and his performance in this film, which actually has been doing okay relatively speaking at the boxoffice as well. But the film seems like a required part of a notable actor’s career, and it is something that will come up at some point where they take on the role of a well known figure. Chalamet takes on a particularly well known figure in Bob Dylan, which goes into an even less remarkable trend of the musician biopic, to the point that this is retread from Mangold himself having done an extremely similar film with Walk the Line about Johnny Cash, who is also featured in this film. All that was parodied by Walk Hard successfully, and unfortunately Walk Hard had very little impact apparently when it comes to self-awareness as it failed to make many filmmakers change their ways and make their musician biopics more inventive, as except for some elements of the first act we get yet another run-of-the-mill Dewey Cox tale here. 

I will begin with the positives, Chalamet’s musical performance as Dylan is reasonably convincing, I would say he does go slightly too nasally towards the overt impression closer to John C. Reilly’s Dylan impression to be perfectly honest, but for the most part it is a believable enough approximation of Dylan’s musical performance style. Of course Chalamet doing his own singing and guitar playing is most of it, as Dylan’s stage presence is all about very little in terms of overt showmanship as he’s very minimalist when compared to say a Ray Charles or a Freddie Mercury especially. There’s not too much to imitate in that sense, but Chalamet more or less brings what he needs to in the musical performances. However in his non-singing Dylan voice he actually makes a critical error in doing his singing voice as Dylan’s talking voice, which while not dramatically opposed like Freddie Mercury’s two voices, it is still a more subdued voice with even less of that nasally extreme that is the focus for a Dylan parody. Chalamet makes this error as his speaking voice of Dylan is as much with nasal and does feel like a put on, particularly if you compare what Chalamet is doing here to what Blanchett did as her version of Dylan in the vastly superior I’m Not There, which notable given Blanchett is a woman playing a man yet felt far more natural despite even having room to be overt in her style given the film’s more impressionistic take on Dylan. 

So there’s one thing that I don’t quite believe him as Dylan, as it does feel like an actor with the too nasally voice, and his arching of his back, are all actions to create Dylan but don’t make me believe Dylan. Even within this there’s a strange choice by Chalamet where he always brings this intense glare at times, even in some of the musical performances, which is not really at all the presence you get from Dylan from that period. But the film, and Chalamet fall into what I suspected could be a pitfall of the film and the performer going in, which something I’m Not There brilliantly played with, which is that Dylan is such a mythic figure to so many, a living legend, that the filmmakers might be too timid to treat him as a person. And the film immediately makes this failure, as Dylan is looked at through the broadest of strokes to the point that we even get a character noting that he’s just this mysterious musical man. To be fair you can have a character that lives in ambiguities and the gray areas, but then at least the actor playing the part needs to know the essential truths of the character to give us hints into what might be going on behind that curtain. Unfortunately Chalamet is as lost as anyone else when it comes to who Dylan is as an actual person. He instead squarely performs into playing into the stoic mystery man who starts as the seeming young drifter just there ready to perform masterpieces, with random asides of a seeming sage wisdom at a young age, and there’s little in terms of a real build up towards a man creating an image of himself, or even letting us know just a hint of who this guy really is behind that image. 

The biggest difference between the early scenes of Dylan and the later scenes is less of anything that Chalamet does, and really all of his arc is defined by him now wearing sunglasses most of the time. Chalamet plays into the mysterious man from the opening scenes, and just goes even harder into it. When he reacts or interacts within a scene, we don’t get the sense of internal logic in his performance, something I’ll admit becomes even harder when sunglasses are blocking the window to the soul, but regardless, we get a lot of mumbling from Chalamet and general posturing as his form of Dylan. We don’t cut deeper other than he is this mystical man who will do his own thing no matter what, and the most we get is his quiet frustration. The frustration though even too comes out in just random mumblings of the mystic man still and it doesn’t allude to the real man getting annoyed by being put in a box. When he starts to expand his repertoire, builds his band, using an electric guitar, Chalamet puts no commentary on any of this within his performance, he just does it within the same Dylan “cool” as the rest of his performance. Even the climactic sequence which is causing a near riot for playing with his band at the Folk Festival, where much of the crowd boos him and calls him “Judas”. Chalamet plays all of it like it doesn’t phase him and he is just doing the same Dylan thing as the rest of his performance. It is all just the surface of Dylan and as though none of it impacts him whatsoever, which even in the real footage of Dylan’s reaction to being called Judas, you can see more emotion and more layers than Chalamet’s perfunctory note we get here. 

The aspect that theoretically should be Dylan at his most personal are when he’s with his two love interests the artist Sylvie (Elle Fanning) and fellow folk singer Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro). Notably both Fanning and Barbaro give the most naturalistic performances out of anyone in the film, which is particularly notable for Barbaro given that she too is playing a known figure though her realization of such is convincing without being overt. I mention that because they both seem like real people against Chalamet who even in these scenes still is doing his Dylan impression with too much of it just being that impression. When interacting with them he maybe brings a bit more overt charm, if rather minute, within the mannerisms but it speaks very little to anything going on internally with Dylan. He has a relationship with each woman who questions him about things, and his response is always some mumbling or to play songs. In both reactions Chalamet does little to convey whatever is going on beneath just being the wandering mysterious musician. How’s he really feeling about both women? He likes them I guess. How’s he feeling about basically betraying both of them? Unknown. How’s he feeling about relationships on the whole? Unknown. He just kind of does “I’m Dylan and I’m above it all” and calls it a day. There’s no real hidden vulnerability, there’s nothing nagging at the edges, there’s no transition for the man from his pre-fame phase to his post-fame phase. It’s just the impression of an unknowable image. The ending scene sums it up pretty well for me where we see Dylan visit the dying Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy) and we don’t see the fan, the grieving loved one, the artist looking for comfort or closure, the mentee looking for a last bit of wisdom, no what we get is just Chalamet looking above it all like Dylan as though he’s a superhero. It honestly wouldn’t have been too out of place if as Dylan was riding away from the folk festival if a kid went up to Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) and asked “Why’s he riding away” and Seeger says with his sage wisdom “Because he's the hero folk music deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we'll criticize him. Because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. He's a mumbling guardian, a watchful poet. He’s a Bob Dylan.” I joke because there’s not a person here that Chalamet plays; it is a vague image of a man that the filmmakers, and Chalamet fail to give earnest life to. He makes no commentary on this icon, offers no insight, just delivers an impression, not the worst ever, but also not a particularly good one. 

Best Actor 2024

 And the Nominees Are:

Timothée Chalamet in A Complete Unknown 

Colman Domingo in Sing Sing

Adrien Brody in The Brutalist

Ralph Fiennes in Conclave

Sebastian Stan in The Apprentice

Alternate Best Actor 2022: Results

10. Song Kang-ho in Broker - Song brings a  naturalistic and charming chemistry even if the film tasks him to go into some less than natural directions for this character late in the film. 

Best Scene: Seeing his daughter. 

9. Robert Pattinson in The Batman - Pattinson gives a great depiction of Batman that gives a greater insight within the development of the character and the different shades of his identity. 

Best Scene: "Bruce WAAAYNE"

8. Christopher Abbott in On the Count of Three - Abbott gives a captivating depiction of a man on an extreme mental edge that manages to be intense, heartwrenching but also at times rather funny. 

Best Scene: Seeing the high school bully. 

7. Mehdi Bajestani in Holy Spider - Bajestani gives an extremely disturbing portrayal of a man whose depravity goes far beyond just psychopathy. 

Best Scene: "Not Crazy"

6. Mark Rylance in The Outfit - Rylance amplifies his film every step of the way, giving a consistently captivating portrayal of a man who essentially weaponizes modesty. 

Best Scene: "I'm the mole"

5. Alexander Skarsgård in the Northman - Skarsgård delivers a powerful performance that goes beyond just his tremendous physical presence and also gives a potent portrayal of the emotional weight of his journey. 

Best Scene: The Queen's truth. 

4. Felix Kammerer in All Quiet on the Western Front - Kammerer gives a heartbreaking portrayal of the effects of war, both in terms of the bonds between soldiers and of the terrible mental degradation from the losses and horrors suffered throughout his experience. 

Best Scene: In the crater. 

3. Timothée Chalamet in Bones and All - Chalamet delivers for me his best performance, that offers an honest off-beat charisma, a fantastic chemistry with his co-star, and a powerful emotional vulnerability, all in his depiction of a cannibal. 

Best Scene: What really happened with his dad. 

2. Ralph Fiennes in The Menu - Fiennes gives an amazing performance that manages to be extremely intense, but also incredibly hilarious as his hate and regret filled killer chef. 

Best Scene: A cheeseburger. 

1. Park Hae-il in Decision to Leave - Park gives an entirely captivating and absolutely haunting portrayal of obsession. 

Best Scene: The snowy mountain.

Overall:

1. Colin Farrell in The Banshees of Inisherin
2. Park Hae-il in Decision to Leave
3. Bill Nighy in Living
4. Ralph Fiennes in The Menu
5. Timothée Chalamet in Bones and All
6. Felix Kammerer in All Quiet on the Western Front
7. Paul Mescal in Aftersun
8. Alexander Skarsgård in the Northman
9. Mark Rylance in The Outfit
10. Mehdi Bajestani in Holy Spider - 5
11. Ram Charan in RRR
12. N.T. Rama Rao Jr in RRR
13. Christopher Abbott in On the Count of Three
14. Robert Pattinson in The Batman
15. Mark Rylance in The Phantom of the Open
16. Song Kang-ho in Broker
17. Adeel Akhtar in Ali & Ava
18. Jonathan Majors in Devotion
19. Denis Ménochet in As Bestas
20. Daniel Giménez Cacho in Bardo
21. Daryl McCormack in Good Luck To You, Leo Grande
22. Eden Dambrine in Close
23. Gang Dong-won in Broker
24. Jeremy Pope in The Inspection
25. Daniel Kaluuya in Nope
26. Austin Butler in Elvis
27. Gabriel Labelle in The Fabelmans
28. Ricardo Darin in Argentina, 1985
29. Brendan Fraser in The Whale
30. Diego Calva in Babylon 
31. Ben Foster in The Survivor
32. John Boyega in Breaking - 4.5
33. Daniel Craig in The Glass Onion
34. Michael Ward in Empire of Light
35. Adam Driver in White Noise
36. Antonio Banderas in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
37. Jack Lowden in Benediction
38. Jerrod Carmichael in On the Count of Three
39. Colin Farrell in After Yang 
40. Brad Pitt in Babylon
41. Idris Elba in Three Thousand Years of Longing
42. Nicolas Cage in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
43. Adam Sandler in Hustle
44. Harris Dickinson in Triangle of Sadness
45. Rory Kinnear in Men
46. Donald Elise Watkins in Emergency
47. Peter Lanzani in Argentina, 1985
48. Ali Junejo in Joyland
49. Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick
50. Will Smith in Emancipation
51. Viggo Mortensen in Crimes of the Future
52. RJ Cyler in Emergency 
53. Peter Capaldi in Benediction
54. Sterling K. Brown in Hong For Jesus. Save Your Soul
55. Kenneth Branagh in Death on the Nile - 4
56. Colin Farrell in Thirteen Lives
57. Viggo Mortensen in Thirteen Lives
58. Jon Hamm in Confess Fletch
59. Dali Benssalah in Athena
60. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in Ambulance
61. Glen Powell in Devotion
62. Benedict Cumberbatch in Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
    
63. Christian Bale in The Pale Blue Eye
64. Gregory Mann in Pinocchio
65. Jake Gyllenhaal in Ambulance 
66. Sami Slimane in Athena
67. Elliott Crosset Hove in Godland
68. Zach Efron in The Greatest Beer Run Ever
69. Christoph Waltz in Dead for a Dollar
70. Ryan Gosling in The Gray Man 
71. Joe Alwyn in Stars At Noon - 3.5
72. Daniel Radcliffe in Weird
73. Chris Hemsworth in Thor: Love and Thunder
74. Karl Urban in The Sea Beast 
75. Luke Evans in Scrooge: A Christmas Carol
76. Chris Evans in Lightyear 
77. Jake Gyllenhaal in Strange World - 3
    
78. Banks Repeta in Armageddon Time
79. Sam Rockwell in See How They Run
80. Brad Pitt in Bullet Train 
81. Hugh Jackman in The Son - 2.5
82. Eddie Redmayne in Fantastic Beats: The Secrets of Dumbledore 
83. Sam Worthington in Avatar: The Way of Water
84. Daniel Zolghadri in Funny Pages
85. Will Ferrell in Spirited - 2
86. John David Washington in Amsterdam
87. Christian Bale in Amsterdam
88. Ryan Reynolds in Spirited
89. Chris Pratt in Jurassic World: Dominion
90. Mason Thames in The Black Phone 
91. Dwayne Johnson in Black Adam
92. Peter Billingsley in A Christmas Story Christmas - 1.5
93. Cooper Raiff in Cha Cha Real Smooth - 1

Next (eventually): 1961 Lead

Alternate Best Actor 2022: Timothée Chalamet in Bones and All

Timothée Chalamet did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Lee in Bones and All. 

Bones And All is a largely compelling, and strangely humane, film about a teenage girl Maren (Taylor Russell) struggling with her urge for cannibalism. 

Let's talk over the much fawned over Timothée Chalamet, who with many a straight-to-stardom with a rabid fan base leads to an aggressive ant-fan base, in turn, many reactions to his talent being that of just extremes, which don't effectively articulate the performer. Which means actually taking each performance on its own. Chalamet appears about 30 minutes into the film, as while I do think he is the lead, he is very definitely the secondary lead to Taylor Russell. He first appears as the second fellow cannibal she comes across via their strange smelling ability. Showing up at a grocery store where Lee takes on an obnoxious drunk, who he tricks into following him out of the store, where he eats the man. Although I wouldn't say Chalamet's charisma has always been completely obvious to me in every performance, it is extremely evident here from that first scene. As he cuts through the screen in his immediacy and really I'd say his kind of cool as he darts out at the guy, and just establishes himself with a very James Deanesque sort of presence. He's not your typical confidence, although it is still all about confidence even in a more withdrawn kind of way. 

In his first major scene, after he has eaten and Maren goes to talk to him, Chalamet really does mumble most of his lines in his rather dismissive manner towards her with each word. It works though as Chalamet manages to play it as someone who actually is a bit at ill ease at being seen at this moment though as someone who is trying to play it off like it doesn't matter to him. Finding in his kind of mumbling whispers that Lee is just trying not to engage, as it seems like they should avoid cannibals. When Maren essentially makes her intentions pretty clear, she goes along with Lee, and he takes her to his last victim's home. Chalamet is great in this scene in the sheer exuberance where he plays it kind of a kid in a candy store in the sense of fun he brings and the eagerness he is to show off to Maren the various records the guy has. Chalamet is terrific by showing very much the "fun" that Lee is able to have despite his very atypical lifestyle, and becomes much more open as well as clear in his performance as he brings Maren along into his world. 

Afterward, Chalamet with Russell find really fantastic chemistry, that isn't instantly romantic, but what they rather find is an instant connection. Chalamet's performance is wonderful in this scene by adjusting towards genuinely listening to her and creating a sense of keen empathy between the two in their conversation. As much as Chalamet brings charisma at the moment, his charm really in the conversation is just how he looks at her. Chalamet is so genuine towards her that every step of the way there is sincerity, and in that he expresses the sort of solace the two can have of mutual experience even while technically troubled by it. Chalamet though reflects it as this kind of comforting "expert" towards her, without pompousness but rather an attempt to truly make her more at ease with her condition. Not that Lee is at all a man fully comfortable with himself. The two are really lovely together and the two building the connection couldn't feel more natural despite their connection is quite unnatural. The two though bring something so essential with just how humane their relationship is in these early moments as Chalamet shows Lee just opening up to her more than anything. Their movement towards more overly romantic chemistry is so natural because it starts just with this ease and intimacy that the two build together. With just so much being in the way they look at each other that speaks, o much to an essential connection between them.

As the two speak more often, particularly on the aspect of cannibalism, is where Chalamet gives almost a proper rectification of his earlier work in Beautiful Boy that fumbled around the idea of an addict. Here though Chalamet expresses it far more pointedly, despite the addiction being for human flesh, the certain drive in Lee for the flesh, and the rush that he describes. He creates it as a sense of fixation and even more so a kind of bonding with Maren over the idea of eating. When they have a discussion Chalamet conveys this certain exhilaration through his delivery and kind of this attempt to control the idea. Within it though there is as much real desperation about the urge even as he speaks of it in this seemingly positive way. He is able to express the lure in Lee toward his addiction, but also kind of the sense of self-delusion within it. As part of the relationship with Maren, we see the connection that also becomes a dependency between the two, as Lee becomes the seasoned addict in a way. And here is where for me Chalamet particularly excelled in a way that I have often been less convinced, that being in conveying an edge with actual intensity. Chalamet is great for example when the two are found by two other eaters who wear the creep on their sleeve, and Chalamet's eyes cut right through in the way Lee immediately identifies them as a potential danger in their life. Playing so well the scene as someone who has a familiarity with the dangers of life and knows how to maneuver around it. 

The other side of this "expertise" comes as Maren tasks with Lee a meal, where she says she's "hungry" almost as if she might as well say she needs to get high. So Lee goes basically both cruising as would a homosexual would in the 80s, which Chalamet plays rather brilliantly in showing the man essentially eyeing a jerk, eyeing a man, eyeing a fix, and eyeing prey. Chalamet manages to take on the idea of a predator and is convincing as such by blending the shades of typical reality with the added strange element of cannibalism. In turn, making the cannibalism strangely tangible. A great moment just before killing the victim is actually focused on Maren doubting, and Chalamet's breaths in the scene are great acting on their own as you sense suddenly the desperate need of the addict, even in the reassuring that there's nothing wrong with what they're doing as someone truly stuck within this terrible habit. Which after the fact, where they find the man had a family, Chalamet's great in the desperation in every inch of his being in trying to make excuses for their action and his "we got to do this" filled with more anxiety than conviction. The real anxiety of someone who knows he's addicted but desperately wants to not deal with that fact.  

The other side we do see of Lee is the brief moment early on when he goes back home, where he seems to stay away on purpose other than to visit his sister on occasion. I love Chalamet's manner in these moments in that he shows Lee to the most out going and really even loving, in his way of referring to his sister in making fun of ways, however with a sense of endearment and love towards her in every ounce of that. Chalamet shows that Lee absolutely loves his sister and that is pure within his manner. At the same time though Chalamet alludes within that so much frustration and a particular vulnerability towards her when questioning what he's doing and where he's been. Chalamet shows that in these moments Lee in a way is at his worst becuase she is part of where he is the most broken based on his relationship with his "missing" dad. Chalamet manages to convey the inherent drama behind it all so potently and directly of what in so many ways defines his pain. Speaking finally on the death of his father, who he ate because he was an abusive father and also a cannibal. Chalamet is great in how he delivers this description at first with a dismissive smile as something that doesn't bother him, but the more Maren presses Chalamet reveals just how much vulnerability and pain is in him. It is an incredibly powerful moment and just a great moment from Chalamet in revealing an essential truth about Lee. The longer it goes the more Chalamet shows the emotions bubble up, and it is incredibly performed in revealing all of what Lee has been holding in this entire time. Chalamet is so great in the scene with every little smile, as a defense that only stays for a moment between just how much anguish in every tear and breath that again reveals every bit of the pain in him. And in turn, what we see Lee really getting through this moment is from it successfully in the relationship with Maren, in which the more they spend time together the more convincing Russell and Chalamet are together. They are amazing together in that scene because of showing the way together they deal with Lee's pain. They are also wonderful with after a while how pure their connection feels and tangible it is with that as the culmination of it. And through that, they've successfully shown how this connection slowly moves away from their co-dependency to love. What's also great are the little flirtatious moments that build, the moments that seem of no importance, yet show such simple sincerity of their love. They earn it so beautifully and manage to make you genuinely care about two cannibals finding love in one another. A notion that should be entirely ridiculous yet feels truly heartfelt by the end of this. And I'll admit coming into this performance I had my doubts about that notion and about Chalamet's portrayal of such a character. But, he entirely convinced me otherwise, because as much as he delivers a charismatic off-beat energy to the role, what makes his work great is how much of it is just an honest portrait of a young man suffering from addiction and a painful life.