Timothée Chalamet: A Ping Pong of Outrage

A ping pong of outrage

This week I seem to have been officially designated head cheerleader for Team Chalamet.

Let me explain. 

At the start of the week I was one of the film critics quoted in an article on the BBC website homepage about the Timothée Chalamet ‘controversy’ in the lead up to the Oscars. For weeks he had been the front runner for the Best Actor award.

The perceived wisdom, however, is that, in the final leg of the race for the trophy, he has lost momentum and crucially, possibly votes, due to comments he made at a Variety and CNN Town Hall event with Matthew McConaughey, about ballet and opera. 

At the end of the week, I appeared on BBC Radio 4’s The World Tonight speaking about whether what he had said had ruined his chances of winning (at the 14 minute point). I was introduced, amusingly as ‘an out and proud Timothée Chalamet fan’.

It was as if my legal and film worlds had collided and I was leading the defence team for Chalamet! 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20lyk1lpn2o

Let’s take a breather.

The comments were made in February. They only exploded on social media and the internet, a day or so before voting for the Oscars ended. Considering how it’s often argued that Oscar voters are old, how many of them will have been checking social media to see what the outrage du jour was? 

That aside, what exactly is the ‘scandal’ or the ‘controversy?’

Scandal is the standing ovation Hollywood gave to convicted child rapist Roman Polanski when he won the Oscar for best director, whilst a fugitive in Europe from punishment due to him in the USA.

Scandal is the audience giving Will Smith an ovation minutes after he had slapped Chris Rock, live on stage and disgraced the film industry’s biggest event. 

Controversy is, whether the criteria for winning an Oscar should be one’s personal, immutable characteristics, or whether it should be for having given the best acting performance of the year. 

Timothée Chalamet’s inelegantly expressed blunder falls into neither category.

He essentially, rather flippantly, said that he didn’t want his chosen art form (film) to become a niche one unable to draw big audiences he gave the examples of opera and ballet, suggesting that had been their cultural fate. 

It’s an interesting talking point and debate. But it’s very far from a controversy that everyone and their mother has to comment on for social media clout and likes. So kudos to rapper Doja Cat for admitting that she had weighed in on the story simply to ‘virtue signal’ and get social media likes.

Chalamet’s mother was a dancer with the New York City ballet, as was his sister. Timothée himself trained as a dancer. So, he knows that world and wasn’t disrespecting the art per se, but the popularity of it in the current cultural climate. 

Many people in the two fields accept that ballet and opera companies are not always playing to packed houses. They say, if anything, Chalamet has brought attention to them and they are using the drama to plug their new productions. 

The unfortunate truth is, there has also been a drop in the number of people going to the cinema. With the advent of streaming services, cinema style big screen televisions in many homes, gaming and other options for entertainment, Chalamet has a valid point. Whereas, at one time, going to the cinema was a must do activity on a Friday/Saturday evening, it is increasingly less so.

In addition, I’ve written extensively on how ratings for awards shows, including the Oscars, have plummeted in recent years. This is due to a number of factors; the nominated films being small arty movies that few people have seen, so they’re not invested in them winning, actors using the awards stage to mouth off about political issues which alienate half their audience, shortening attention spans versus interminable ceremonies and increasingly fewer ‘real’ movie stars. With the likes of Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise and even Leonardo DiCaprio ageing, there aren’t many actors in the new generation who are both household names and box office draws. Hollywood has lost its mystique, people grumble. At one time you could only see stars on the screen or at the Oscars. They seemed like mythical beings; impossibly beautiful and glamorous and hard to reach. Now, with social media, you can see what they have for breakfast. The films and awards shows themselves also seem to be less about the magic of cinema now and more about causes.

 Add to that, that awards season seems to start at Cannes in May and ends in February/March the following year and you have both movie star and movie awards fatigue. 

Ironically, whether Chalamet wins the Oscar or doesn’t, he may have given this year‘s Oscars ratings boost. His multitude of fans will tune in to see him win. And those pretending to be outraged about his comments will hate tune in to see him, they hope, be humiliated.

Chalamet‘s real crime seems to be that he said something interesting rather than the bland, PR approved word salad that most of his contemporaries stick with. 

He also promoted his movie Marty Supreme with gusto, taking a period film about ping pong to $162 million (and counting) at the box office.

And then, last year, at the SAG awards, where he won for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, he dared to state his aspirations – to be among the greats of his profession by honing his craft with each film. At one time such an honest public declaration might have been applauded. In today’s participation trophy culture, he is mocked as obnoxious and arrogant simply for wanting to be the best at what he does.

While it’s cute that I’ve been seen as being on Timothee’s side in a hostile media blitz against him, I do genuinely think that he deserves the Best Actor Award this year and I wish him the best of luck.