Duncan Idaho said:
But I was told that Timothy was flat and closer to a snuff film fan than the son of a duke
I understand some of the criticism of the casting. To an extent Paul should be a larger actor, Chalamet is a small guy, and Paul is supposed to be a natural leader of men. That being said Paul when the books start out is like 15 IIRC and Chalamet looks like a 15 year old, and he's in a world populated with adults, the movie certainly reinforces that aspect. I think Chalamet played the character to the best of his abilities, I haven't had any issues with his casting or portrayal. This is the inherent issue with making a move of a beloved existing property. I've watched it about 4 times in total now, I can't think of any of the casting choices being bad at this point.
The only part that should have been nominated IMO was Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, she deserved a best supporting actress nomination, she killed it. The only performance nominated that I saw this year was Kirsten Dunst in The Power of the Dog, and Rebecca Ferguson was easily better than her, and I thought Dunst was good in that film. Perhaps the winner was great, but I didn't see West Side Story, nor did I see Belfast, King Richard, or The Lost Daughter.