Celine 'Portrait of an Actor' Spring 2021 Ad Campaign with Thomas Brodie-Sangster

Review of Celine Homme ‘Portrait of an Actor’ Spring 2021 Ad Campaign by Hedi Slimane with Thomas Brodie-Sangster

Thomas Brodie-Sangster broods in black and white in a Spring 2021 campaign for Celine. Creative director Hedi Slimane photographs the actor in his signature style.

Fresh off the success of his supporting role in The Queen’s Gambit, Brodie-Sangster poses for Slimane’s “Portrait of an Actor.” Capturing him in moody monochrome and making dramatic use of light and shadow, Slimane finds a nice place for the boyish heartthrob among his trademark rock-and-roll nostalgia fantasy. Brodie-Sangster poses in slim-cut suits and leather jackets, or, sometimes, no shirt at all, a folky fedora crowning his elfin features.

Though the short film’s minimalist soundtrack evokes a feeling of thoughtful melancholy and resolved tension, nothing actually happens in it. This is of course emblematic of all Slimane’s work for the house: it is consistent and visually evocative, but offers very little in the way of concept or ideas. This portrait tells us very little about this actor other than that he thinks about stuff and Hedi Slimane thinks he’s hot. But Slimane knows what he’s doing with respect to photography and the consistency of his branding, and the art direction is strong enough that the campaign can make its impact from its visuals alone.