A Complete Unknown review

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN: 

TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET TAKES THE STAGE AS BOB DYLAN! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES

Timothée Chalamet and Elle Fanning in A Complete Unknown

 

            Timothée Chalamet (Little Women (2019), Dune: Parts 1 and 2, Wonka) brings one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all time to life in A Complete Unknown, the latest music biopic from James Mangold (Walk the Line, Logan, Ford v. Ferrari) who had previously directed the stellar Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line in 2005, this time revolving around Bob Dylan. I should make this clear, I don’t know anything about Bob Dylan’s life outside of his music so I’m going into this movie pretty blindly. 

            With the exception of last year’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, I think James Mangold is a very exciting filmmaker whether he’s making a biopic about a singer or car manufacturers competing in a race or a superhero movie about an angry mutant with metal claws. Even in the fifth Indiana Jones which I didn’t like all that much, there were things about that movie I thought were pretty impressive. 

            This seemed like a return to form for Mangold and I’m usually down for a biopic about a famous musician if it’s done well like Ray starring Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles or Rocketman with Taron Egerton as Elton John. So, what do I think of James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic? I really like it though this is coming from someone who is not familiar with Dylan’s personal life. 

            I will admit, the plot does feel very derivative of other biopics and I’m sure there’s a lot of details that were skimped over or ignored to make the runtime, but Chalamet’s performance and his covers of famous Bob Dylan songs are incredible and Mangold’s direction gives the film a lot of energy. 

            The film chronicles Bob Dylan’s life between 1961 to 1965 with him arriving from Minnesota to New York City with a guitar and revolutionary talent as he seeks to change American music forever. He forms intimate relationships with other music artists most notably, Peter Seeger (Edward Norton-Fight Club, The Incredible Hulk, Moonrise Kingdom), Johnny Cash (Boyd Holbrook-Gone Girl, Logan, The Bikeriders), and Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro-Chicago Justice, The Good Cop, Top Gun: Maverick) as well as a strong relationship with his girlfriend from 1961-1964, Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning-Super 8, Maleficent 1 and 2, Teen Spirit), a renamed version of Dylan’s actual ex-girlfriend, Suze Rotolo. 

            But when he makes the decision to change genres from folk music to rock ‘n roll, it sparks controversy within his fans and high pressure on himself (Because electric guitars are of the Devil in the folk community or some shit like that!). It all culminates in a groundbreaking performance that reverberates worldwide and he goes from aspiring 19-year-old singer-songwriter to one of the most iconic and influential music figures of all time. 

            The film also stars Scott McNairy (Argo, Killing Them Softly, Speak No Evil (2024)) as Woody Guthrie, Dan Fogler (School for Scoundrels, Kung Fu Panda, Fantastic Beasts trilogy) as Albert Grossman, Norbert Leo Butz (Dan in Real Life, Fair Game, The Exorcist: Believer) as Alan Lomax, P.J. Byrne (The Legend of Korra, The Wolf of Wall Street, Bombshell) as Harold Leventhal, Eli Brown (Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists, Gossip Girl, Wrath of Man) as Mike Bloomfield, David Alan Basche (War of the Worlds (2005), United 93, Sex and the City 2) as John Henry Hammond, Joe Tippett (Rise, Mare of Easttown, Spirited) as Dave Van Ronk, Kayli Carter (Bad Education, Let Him Go, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Maria Muldaur, and Michael Chernus (Orange is the New Black, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Severance) as Theodore Bikel. 

            Overall, A Complete Unknown is a solid music biopic and a fascinating look at the career of Bob Dylan. It actually does make me want to watch and read about his real life and see how accurate the movie is. 

            The most interesting part of the movie for me was when it was covering Bob’s transition from folk to rock which was apparently a huge deal and caused a lot of outrage according to what was shown in the film. It’s the most tension-filled part of the film and it’s all about Bob Dylan switching genres, but in the music industry that can be a very bold move. 

            Timothée Chalamet is extraordinary as Bob Dylan and practically disappears into the role in terms of his vocals, mannerisms, and appearance, it’s also eerie how much his covers of Bob Dylan songs actually sound like the real man as I was hearing him perform. I often had a hard time believing this was the same man who played Paul Atreides in theDune films and I can easily see him getting a Best Actor Oscar nomination. 

            Elle Fanning also adds a lot of humanity and heart to her role as Dylan’s former girlfriend, Boyd Holbrook is a huge standout as Johnny Cash though it was kind of a missed opportunity to have Joaquin Phoenix play him again since he was Cash in Mangold’s Walk the Line. Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez is a scene-stealer and has amazing chemistry with Chalamet whether performing duets together onstage or their own personal struggles offstage. 

            I will say that since Bob Dylan is still alive today, there is probably much more to tell after the credits roll and I get it, a movie needs to have an ending and not everything about the person’s life can be addressed in a specific runtime. The movie ends on a good note, but it does make you wonder when a film should stop when there’s probably a lot more you can do with it, maybe if there’s an extended director’s cut in the future we can see more of Dylan’s life and career onscreen. 

            A Complete Unknown is easily James Mangold’s best movie since Ford v. Ferrari and despite following the music biopic formula quite a bit, it’s a solidly crafted and entertaining look at Bob Dylan’s career with the best Timothée Chalamet performance I’ve seen so far. The song covers are fantastic, the performances all-around are stellar, and Mangold is back in his zone as a director, this is a damn good music biopic and the far superior 2024 biopic about a singer named Bob.