The wispy hairs above Timothée Chalamet’s lip are more of an attempt at a mustache than a full commitment to one. And yet, despite challenged facial hair genetics, it works. In fact, much like Bob Dylan’s quirky auteur status, the mustache became iconic as much due to the person wearing it as the hairs themselves. 

This quickly became symbolic of the buzz surrounding A Complete Unknown (2024), where the film’s traditional press was overshadowed by the enigmatic media antics of its lead star. Chalamet’s range was electrifying: explosive when displaying football knowledge on ESPN or arriving to premieres on a Lime bike or styled-out with Kylie Jenner; authentically crossing worlds with Theo Von and Narduwar interviews; and excitingly laying a statement of intent with his ‘great’ SAG Award speech. 

This would mask that A Complete Unknown, although decent, did not reinvent the wheel; most of the contemporary appeal for an 83-year-old folk star’s biopic would come from a lead actor who could simulate Dylan’s 1960s hysteria in real-time in the 21st Century. Upon being assigned this task, Chalamet would turn his intense admiration for the artist into humility under his brand, having repeatedly expressed that being a gateway to Dylan would be the highest honour this film could achieve. 

In this way, A Complete Unknown is far less important as a film as it is the centrepiece and excuse to have the conversations and stunts of the star’s media moments – a la Brat. In fact, his first public appearance post-rebrand – gatecrashing the Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest – had nothing to do with the movie, but is it not fair to say that it is spiritually connected to the press tour? 

Such a successful rebrand makes it easy to forget that Chalamet had already made an enviable career off a consistently youthful clean-shaven look. Upon remembering this, we realise that Timothée Chalamet held pop culture in two monumental chokeholds in 2024. But while all eyes were on the Chalamet himself for the enigmatic A Complete Unknown press tour, his March occasion was far less about star power than it was about the pensive and spine-chilling rise of Paul Atreides in Dune: Part Two (2024). 

Ironic, since Dune’s star-studded cast make its posters look like Avengers flicks. But the Dune world is so addictively enveloping that it gives us no room to consider the actors outside their performances. While the fanfare around A Complete Unknown invites us to appreciate Chalamet’s craftsmanship, his Paul Atreides performance engulfs us in the feeling of it, directing his energy entirely inwardly to electrify Paul’s transformation from traumatised adolescent observer to tyrannical political mastermind all the more dramatic. 

(Image: Wikimedia Commons)