It's Raining Timothée
Monday, September 21, 2020 at 12:48PM 
Perhaps to capitalize on the excitement for the forthcoming Dune (2020) and maybe The French Dispatch (though it no longer has a release date), Timothée's previous leading role, A Rainy Day in New York, is finally getting a US release (October 9th) given the barren theatrical landscape. As you may recall Amazon dumped it in 2019 during their contract dispute with Woody Allen.
We haven't seen A Rainy Day -- though the new trailer is the kind where it feels like you've just seen the whole movie -- so our subject is Timothée himself. If this had been anything like a normal year, he would have been everywhere. Think about it. He is coming off of three Oscar hits (Lady Bird, Little Women, Call Me By Your Name) and arriving in two buzzy projects from well loved auteurs The French Dispatch and Dune. What's more had Hollywood been operating at its normal speed, we'd have heard new casting news since he's in-demand. In short, he would have been in the media constantly. The Oscar nominated actor turns 25 in December. Male actors who break out in their early 20s don't always have the career one expects but sometimes they stay popular even when their actual competitors arrive (since most male stars don't truly break big until their late 20s or early 30s). What do you see in Timothée's future? If you were his management team where would you be steering his career next?
Reader Comments (45)
He's most likely a new Leo.
Ugh who cares?
Funny that studios are pushing back big tentpole films like Wonder Woman 1984, Top Gun: Maverick, Halloween Kills, etc., but I will really return to the movies to see A Rainy Day in NY.
I feel like his trajectory will be similar to Leonardo DiCaprio’s. He’ll get a haircut and so more “masculine” roles with a hint of pathos.
Bushwick -- that seems likely, yes. You can only do the mop head waif thing for so long. Unless he goes full eccentric Depp and keeps his look over decades.
He is so talented! And it is wonderful to hear him talk as well about his craft.
The King is to me the best role of his career so far. Have not seen him in Hostiles, Lady Bird or Beautiful Boy
Hopefully he will get a long career
I think he could go the Ben Whishaw or John Hawkes (or even Andrew Garfield) route, actually. It is a question of bulk. Do you see gyms and high-protein diets in Timmy's future?
In Europe we've seen it! Cherry Jones deserve an some attention, maybe also an Oscar nom
I find so much sensitivity in his acting that I really like him. Hope he makes the grade.
He is so skinny, he can play a teen for the next 20 yrs.!!!!!
Easily best actor of his generation.
Many people say he’s the new Dicaprio , Depp or bale but none of these actors have a performance even close to what he did in call me by your name
Broadway!
He’s going to sell tickets like crazy.
I also think broadway counts a lot for an actors longevity and help them progress from heartthrob/siren to serious actor.
See: ScarJo
A Rainy Day in New York isn't an actively bad Woody Allen movie but it definitely fits in the forgettable mid tier range.
I worry that the Chalamet train is set to be derailed pretty soon through no fault of his own, partly because I can't imagine good box office prospects of Dune. Suspect he'll need to do a hard character actor reset in order to ensure career longevity.
He really is a unique talent. And he talks about acting in a serious and intelligent manner without being pretentious. I hope he will be getting great roles for years to come, which is very likely especially if he does bulk up a bit (good luck topping the performance in CMBYN though).
I like him as he's definitely got a future. I do want to see A Rainy Day in New York whether or not it's middle-of-the-road Woody. Plus, Woody Allen is innocent and Mia Farrow is a fucking liar.
I think he's really talented, but I worry that at some point he'll go the Tom Hardy way and start resenting his own beauty and obscuring his appearance in every role. That in and of itself isn't the biggest problem, but so often when male actors go that route their choices get more boring and less interesting. If we're spared that kind of development, I think his career trajectory would align more with someone like Jake Gyllenhaal rather than Leo.
I saw the movie last december, when it opened in Brazil. It's not a bad movie, but it's no a good one either. Copycating Woody Allen's mannerism was not a smart move for Timothée Chalamet. But he is talented and very young, so he can make mistakes. I think his career is much up on the air and Dune's sucess or failure will determine which will be his next step.
I'm with Rizz in thinking Broadway would make some sense - but probably not until ~2023, given that I'd think they'd hope for first some big screen success once big screens are a thing again (hopefully by late 2021 or summer 2022).
I'd think his team would want a Leo-ish future for him, but maybe he'd be into the string of auteurs thing that Pattinson went with? It isn't clear to me. I hope he doesn't purposefully bulk up a lot too soon. Making a point to look like 90% of other Hollywood actors, well, it's just boring.
I am not seeing superstardom for him, beyond what he has at the moment. He is very wan and already seeming a little repetitive? If Dune is a bomb, I think it will severely limit his future casting as a leading man. Maybe a character actor but I don't get any leading man vibes.
Also, not a prognosis, but this Woody Allen trailer triggers a lot of bad associations, including the perversions of an older man.
I saw A Rainy Day in NY and it's pure Allen ( for better or worse) cinematography is beautiful and perfect for a rom-com, witty dialogue, Chalamet is really good in it as is everyone else but it is Elle Fanning who walks away with a greatly amusing performance. As for Timothée he looks like a young DD-Lewis and for sure he has the chops to carry on Lewis-kinda roles , would love to see him in something like "In the Name of the Father" or " The Crucible" and an Oscar-baity role like "My Left Foot". Dune will tank but he'll be fine.
TOM: I get what you're trying to say, but how long has it been since Woody Allen produced anything higher than the mild end of good? The mid-90s, basically right after "the thing"? Not worth it, dude.
I haven't felt like writing up my thoughts on this movie just because it's not worth the headache but I didn't think it was terrible by any measure, and it's got some of the best work of Vittorio Storaro's career -- he does absolutely magical things with his camera, with the light and colors refracting in the rain. There are a couple of shots that took my breath away.
I don’t really like twinks but I can’t deny his promising talent. Honestly I’m
surprised he wasn’t nominated for Little Women. Thought he was wonderful.
He's very talented, but his opinions against Woody, show them as a shallow person. He wants to get an Oscar too soon.
Storaro is indeed the flim's MVP, and it was fun seeing an Allen movie shot in the streets of New York with a real A budget. MANHATTAN looks like a low budget indie by comparison. This one is closer to WHEN HARRY MET SALLY in terms of production values. This one has crowds, great location work, rain machines everywhere making the city look magical.... Chalamet is indeed doing a real Woody imitation, and I thought it worked much better than, say Kenneth Branagh's squirm-inducing imitation in CELEBRITY. Selena Gomez and Ellie Fanning are great, so is Diego Luna, Jude Law, and Liev Schreiber. But, as PP says, Cherry Jones has the best scene, and it is indeed one that a few years ago would have earned her an Oscar nomination. It's a classic scene, perfectly written, acted and shot. To me, as a whole, it's a solid B+ film, certainly better anything from Allen's horrible bad streak in the early aughts--MELINDA AND MELINDA, CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION, ANYTHING ELSE? HOLLYWOOD ENDING... I actually think his last three films have been very strong--WONDER WHEEL will eventually be recognized as a minor classic--and Storaro and all that extra Amazon money really helped.
He is fluent in French right? If anything if his hollywood career starts going awry he can probably just leave and instead of Broadway do European cinema. Dujardin and Cotillard all went back to making movies in Europe.
Dan - I also loved Wonder Woman. Winslet was on fire.
Oh boy, this movie is awful. I think itś the movie in which he hates women the most. In this movie they're idiots or prostitutes, or both.
Somehow Selena Gomez survives this disaster. She's beyond lovely.
I don't think he's going the Dicaprio route - he doesn't have the universal appeal to warrant that. It all comes down to whether he'll manage to get out of the distressed teenager performances he's been giving since CMBYN. It seems Dune will be quite the dealbreaker when it comes to his acting and his box office appeal.
@Michael R People talk about WONDER WHEEL being stagy and some kind of 50s Arthur Millerish pastiche. Well... okay, but BROADWAY DANNY ROSE could be dismissed as a Chaplin pastiche ANOTHER WOMAN as a Bergman pastiche and STARDUST MEMORIES or RADIO DAYS could be dismissed as Fellini pastiches. But even Bergman had his influences--He admitted that THE VIRGIN SPRING was basically a Kurosawa pastiche! WONDER WHEEL is told from the point of view of a mediocre would-be playwright, so it makes perfect sense that the lines and the acting should have that 50s theatrical quality. It really is one of Winslet's three or four best performances. It's sad she's disavowed her involvement in the film.
Michael R - the thought of a Wonder woman movie with winslet and directed by Woody Allen made my day, thank you
What on earth is it about Chalamet?
Side note: is it really “coming off a film” when nearly three years have passed? But that’s the thing: it’s all CMBYN, all the time; deep down, he hasn’t shaken that role, nor do I think he will with the fervent obsession the Internet has over him. I honestly think that’s going to hurt his chances at being seen as anything but the pretentious kid who creamed a peach, cried over it, and then cried for 4 minutes over an end credits montage.
Haha. An oversimplification, but I’m definitely in the camp of Much Ado About Nothing. Especially when it comes to “best of his generation” talk. Lord have mercy.
Now, talk to me about Harris Dickinson or George MacKay and we’re in business! :)
Manny -- i see where you're coming from. I hope you're not right but there is that possibility which is why i asked people what they thought. I've seen so many careers go in unexpected directions in my lifetime. You just never know.
Dan -- i also think Winslet is pretty great in Wonder Wheel. (sigh) as for Woody's weakest period. I'm inclined to agree it was that same stretch... though i think the trailer for this and for the new one Rifkin's something both films look awful.
Scott C -- i agree about the bulking up thing. It worked for Keanu for a while but mostly it makes the thin dudes look like all the other leading men. Joseph Gordon Levitt got significantly less interesting when he was suddenly muscle-bound. and where is he now?
"He's most likely a new Leo." - I happen to think he's better than Leo. He can do everything Leo can do but he has more of a sense of humor about himself, a quality which I think Leo lost as soon as he became big. I hope Timmy never loses this. Plus he can sing and dance.
"What do you see in Timothée's future?"
pubertée, hopefullée
Wait, can he actually sing or rap? Not trying to disparage rapping as I find it an incredibly difficult genre to pull off well (and awesome when it is!), but, that’s not the same as being able to hold a note or a leading role in a musical.
Again, just curious if he’s had experience with that. Same with dancing. All I’ve seen are clips of him from his high school days, and as cute as it was, sigh, here I go naming the dreaded point of origin, his dancing in CMBYN doesn’t exactly scream proficiency in dance the art form.
Listen, I have nothing against the guy, but sweeping remarks like those and saying he can do everything Leo can (first of all, he’s had 10% of Leo’s career, and that’s being generous) only hurt his actual chances to succeed. It just sets him up for failure and stagnation.
Treating someone or someone’s line of work as peerless or unimpeachable before it’s even truly begun or before that actor has developed a distinctive voice and body of work is bonkers to me. For what it’s worth, I’d love to watch him fail, to try literally anything that’s not the roles he’s been given, because thus far, as pretty and talented a tapestry though they may weave, they haven’t shown me any proof of anything out of the norm or worth canonizing.
Also, Leo’s late career output aside, his double whammy of Romeo + Juliet and Titanic will absolutely never be topped. That charisma and the fact he managed to pull off two tragic romantic heroes in succession (while also managing Total Eclipse beforehand, and The Beach afterwards, both which showcase totally different facets of his talent) while making them both distinctive from each other, AND still managing to sell tickets on just beauty, too...
Mr. Chalamet hasn’t done that, and with the trailer for Dune, it sure doesn’t look like he’ll pull it off as Paul Atreides.
And I’ll be the first to eat my words if he somehow changes the face of cinema like some of his more fervent acolytes believe. I absolutely will. :)
I have seen "Rainy Day" and it just confirms that the younger the Woody substitute is the more unwatchable the shtick is...agreed that Cherry Jones is great though
I'd rather have a new Hugh Grant than a new Leonardo DiCaprio from him.
I hate that the comments on this post are just people complaining about him being a twink or having long hair... ya'll gays are too much. The idealization of masculinity is disturbing.
NATHANIEL R--I agree on the trailer for RAINY DAY. I was bracing for the worst. In the end, I thought it got the job done; it gets better and better as it goes along. It's not set in any kind of recognizably real New York, of course. It's set in Woody land. At least he realizes there's a thing called a cell phone now and the kids use them.
It all depends how he ages- he still looks like a twink
"Appreciating masculine beauty is part of the gay DNA ]- Timothe is cute twink who might age into a handsome man.
Par - you win comment of the day
Ok, so I love the guy, he looks so incredible on camera and his talent is over the moon. CMBYN just floored me, my fave young male performance since Timothy Hutton in Ordinary People. I don't think he's the next Leo, I don't think he even wants that, if anything he wants to be the next Brad Pitt/Robert Redford, though he's already shown more depth than either of those two legends. And to think he's only barely 25, there is much to come. I hope I live long enough to see it.
Everyone : of course I meant to type Wonder Wheel 🤣🤣🤣
Gotta admit, I don't get the appeal. I had a friend who had an aversion to what he called 'old boys', i.e. men over 30 who still looked like boys, but just older. He seems like he'll fit that description, he's 24 now, but looks like he's 14. He looks like a strong wind will just blow him away.