New York, 1961. Against the backdrop of a vibrant music scene and tumultuous cultural upheaval, an enigmatic 19-year-old from Minnesota arrives with his guitar and revolutionary talent, destined to change the course of American music. He forges intimate relationships with music icons of Greenwich Village on his meteoric rise, culminating in a groundbreaking and controversial performance that reverberates worldwide. Timothée Chalamet stars and sings as Bob Dylan in James Mangold’s A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, the electric true story behind the rise of one of the most iconic singer-songwriters in history.
What We Thought:
Even if you don’t know a single song by Bob Dylan you can still enjoy A Complete Unknown. With only a few weeks left in 2024 it will make my Top 10 of the year as it is a solidly acted film and showcases a portion of Bob Dylan’s life and an era of US history.
With Bob Dylan still being alive, I was curious to see what kind of biopic this was going to be. His career spans decades so there would be a lot to cover if you were doing a full life story. Director Jimmy Mangold and his co-writer Jay Cocks did the right thing in only using a portion of Dylan’s life. By sticking with the beginning of his music career until he went electric, it provides a full 3 act story with an ending that feels complete. You get the beginning of Dylan’s career with him moving to New York City, his rise to fame as a folk singer and then ultimately turning his back on folk music by going electric with his now infamous plugged in performance at the Newport Folk Festival. Despite his career going for another six plus decades after that performance, the story doesn’t feel shorted and nothing feels left out or missing. It has a beginning, middle and end despite so much more that happened afterwards in the real world.
Again if you don’t know his music, the performances from the cast will carry you through the movie. Timothée Chalamet will get a lot of award nominations playing Bob Dylan and deservedly so. He sings and plays music as Dylan and captures the look of that era perfectly. Dylan has a distinct tone of voice whether talking or singing and Chalamet handles it well. Edward Norton will probably get award buzz as well as Pete Seeger and he is good, but to me Dan Fogler steals the film in a supporting role. He’s not in as many scenes as Norton, but he steals every single one he’s in. Elle Fanning is solid as Dylan’s girlfriend and Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez is also good. Plus I didn’t even recognize Boyd Holbrook as the Man in Black, Mr. Johnny Cash. I actually didn’t know about the pen pal friendship between Dylan and Cash.
With the 1960s backdrop you get historical elements as well. Events like the Cuban Missile Crisis and the war in Vietnam had a major effect on Dylan and you can see that in the film. Whether it’s performing Masters of War or singing at protests, the events of the 60s played a major role in the movie. Mangold captures the mood of the singers and the time period very well to provide the perfect backdrop to his film. Dylan and the 1960s music scene go hand and hand if you know that era and Mangold shows a lively period of NYC and free love.
A Complete Unknown is a lyric from Like A Rolling Stone and even if you don’t know that the film can still work for you. It’s a fantastic movie for the older crowd, but I don’t know how well it will play for Chalamet fans. His work is great, but will the youngsters care enough to show up at the box office? Will they relate to the story and era and make the movie a hit? I’m not sure about that, but the over 40 crowd will eat it up for sure. Dylan is one of music’s greatest writers and the film captures a time period of his life effortlessly. The cast, direction and music are all good so because of that it is…
RECOMMENDED!
Directed by: James Mangold
Screenplay by: James Mangold and Jay Cocks
Produced by: Fred Berger p.g.a., James Mangold p.g.a., Alex Heineman p.g.a., Bob Bookman, Peter Jaysen, Alan Gasmer, Jeff Rosen, Timothée Chalamet
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, Boyd Holbrook, Dan Fogler, Norbert Leo Butz, Eriko Hatsune, Big Bill Morganfield, Will Harrison, and Scoot McNairy
The Nerds Templar 