A tortured artist, looking for meaning in life, and navigating a gritty New York City to find it. This is Timothée Chalamet in a new Chanel ad for its Bleu fragrance, directed by Martin Scorsese. The Dune and Wonka actor signed on as the Bleu spokesperson last May, and images from this film first teased in October.

It’s a near-perfect ad for a luxury fragrance—equal parts entertaining and pretentious. The (mostly) black and white spot follows Chalamet as he runs the celebrity promotional hamster wheel of late night TV, paparazzi, and more. Staring out a luxury apartment window at a very Zoolander-esque billboard of himself, he seems lost. But there are streaks and flares of blue that keep catching his eye.

A TV presenter asks, “When you’re inside a role, do you destroy who you are?”

He finally catches the light, on an elevated subway platform, as we hear his answer. “No, you reach into yourself, you find yourself. Only after that are you free to be who you really are.”

Stepping into the blue-lit subway car, it appears he does just that. The spot ends with Chalamet strolling confidently along a Soho street, in full color.

More than Axe

The commercial’s tone is custom-made for young men, particularly since teen boys’ annual spending on fragrance is up 26% this year, according to a recent study by investment bank Piper Sandler. And it’s less Axe, more luxury fashion brands.

In February, influencer Jeremy Fragrance posted a video to his 8.8 million TikTok followers, guessing what scent a fan was wearing. “Bleu de Chanel, obviously.”

Perhaps this will spark an A-list actor/director arms race among fragrance brands, in a bid to sell the smell to this growing audience. If nothing else, it also reminds us to go back and rewatch the gold standard: Kenzo’s Spike Jonze-directed 2016 spot starring Margaret Qualley.