“Stoker” (2013)
You might have forgotten that Ehrenreich was in “Stoker” —Park Chan-Wook’s aggressively divisive confluence of Southern Gothic and Hitchcock-ian elements has many memorable qualities, but sees the actor enter and exit the film in the blink of an eye. That said, like everyone else in the picture, he is perfectly cast, his presence throwing the film nicely off-kilter at exactly the right moment. Ehrenreich plays Whip, a dreamy classmate of Mia Wasikowska’s misfit teen India Stoker who is cannily originally positioned as something of a kindred spirit, who stands up for her more than once and who is undoubtedly attracted to her. This film plays up to Ehrenreich’s James Dean-ish qualities very well, but just when we think we’ve got him pegged as the good guy who’ll pull India away from her beyond-dysfunctional family, he turns on a dime, attempting to rape her and only being stopped by her murderous uncle (Matthew Goode). It’s a reminder that India can’t trust everyone, and that underneath every seemingly charming man lurks a lust-crazed monster. However briefly his film uses the actor, Park takes full advantage of both Ehrenreich’s charm and the slightly dangerous quality he has that makes him truly interesting.
“Beautiful Creatures” (2013)
There’s an alternate world in which Ehrenreich reached megastar status a few years earlier, where “Beautiful Creatures” lived up to Warner Bros.’ hopes and became the next “Twilight” or “Hunger Games,” and in which he’d likely still be contractually be cranking out sequels. The film, written and directed by “The Fisher King” scribe Richard LaGravenese, disappointed at the box office, and it’s almost a shame, because it’s far better than most YA movies and was perhaps one of the best showcases to date of Ehrenreich as a leading man. The actor (who only got the role when Jack O’Connell had to drop out due to visa problems) plays Ethan, a high school junior who falls for Lena Duchannes (Alice Englert), a young woman from a family that possesses magical powers. The film has its problems, a convoluted plot first among them, but on the whole it’s better looking, more laden with atmosphere, better written and better acted than most films in the genre. And while veterans like Jeremy Irons, Emma Thompson, Viola Davis, Margo Martindale and Eileen Atkins are having fun, it’s Ehrenreich and Englert’s chemistry and charisma that show Edward and Bella up as the bland saps that they really are.
“Hail, Caesar!” (2016)
Ehrenreich’s latest role is his comic turn in the Coen Brothers’ “Hail Caesar!” It doesn’t hurt that the young actor’s role as the Western rodeo expert Hobie Doyle is brilliantly written. Doyle isn’t much of an actor, which is to say he’s not one at all. He’s fresh off the farm and a bit of a dim bulb, but he has outstanding equestrian and rope-handling skills, and thus he’s cast in every Western and gunslinger movie that the studio can throw him into. When the studio is forced to put him in posh and intolerant director Laurence Laurentz’s (Ralph Fiennes) latest film as an attempt to broaden his appeal, Doyle struggles to comic effect. Ehrenreich goes for broke in an incredibly subtle way, committing to the idea of a young, polite man who is unfortunately unsophisticated in every possible manner. Hopelessly incompetent outside of horse-back riding and rope tricks, Ehrenreich’s Doyle nearly steals the show from Fiennes and is arguably the highlight of what is a sometimes dense Coen Brothers movie. It’s absolutely no doubt the Hobie Doyle role got him in the room with Lord and Miller.
So here’s your new Han Solo, an actor who you’re going to continue hearing about even beyond his key role in the new ‘Star Wars’ universe. He’ll appear as one of the leads in Warren Beatty ‘s long-gestating Howard Hughes film which will be released in the fall and could be a major awards contender. Meanwhile, does Ehrenreich seem like a young Han Solo to you? Sound off below.
Rodrigo Perez is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Playlist, which he launched in 2008. He has worked in entertainment journalism since 2000, including at MTV, and has written for SPIN, IndieWire, Pitchfork, Complex, Magnet, and various music, film, and entertainment publications over the past two decades.
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