“The Goldfinch” might be the highly anticipated film adaptation of Donna Tartt’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, but does it have the dramatic heft of its leading man Ansel Elgort’s shirtless selfie dump?
“The Fault In Our Stars” actor, who stars alongside Nicole Kidman in the adaption helmed by “Brooklyn” director John Crowley, seemingly coordinated the arrival of the film’s first trailer with 17 ― yes, we counted ― photos of himself on Instagram posted within minutes.
Please enjoy a few carefully selected examples of what will surely be remembered as Elgort’s finest work below.
Perhaps the posting spree was a marketing move to generate buzz surrounding the film (mission accomplished!), or maybe Elgort just felt that he needed to share his entire camera roll with the public.
But the trailer for “The Goldfinch” is certainly compelling enough without the social media assist.
In the film, Elgort stars as Theo Decker, a young boy who survives a terrorist attack at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that kills his beloved mother. In the aftermath of the bombing, he steals her favorite Dutch painting called “The Goldfinch,” which haunts him throughout his adolescence.
Given that the source material clocks in at a cool 784 pages, the film will understandably excise certain sections, flashing back and forth in time to showcase formative periods in Theo’s life.
“It’s a very powerful and emotional coming-of-age story told from a personal point of view,” Elgort told USA Today on Tuesday about the film. “It touches on the themes we all experience at one time or another – everything from loss, guilt, deception and betrayal to love, hope, friendship and redemption.”
The actor, however, has yet to break his silence on the selfies.
“The Goldfinch” hits theaters Sept. 13.