A Complete Unknown Review

But what about the music?

As I sat down for Christmas dinner last night, my grandfather asked me what I thought of the new Bob Dylan biopic. I told him I liked it! I began to dive headfirst into what I thought were the inherent flaws in the music biopic genre and how stale and exhausted it's become, and yada yada yada until he interrupted me and just said, "But what about the music?" My grandfather is a massive Dylan head; I could tell he was passionate about this larger-than-life artist, specifically about his influential time in the 60s in which the movie takes place. He cited dozens of albums I needed to listen to and told the famous story of Dylan skipping his acceptance of the Nobel Prize in literature, displayed as the film's last line. So, what about the music? The music is unbelievable. Of course, it's Bob Fucking Dylan. Blowin' in the Wind is a banger. There's a reason his songs and lyrics have stood the test of time, but the real question should be, "Do we love the movie, or do we just love the music?". Are we just being put into a comfortable trance?

James Mangold's A Complete Unknown is a safe and generic music biopic that plays the hits regarding the genre's tropes. It is a genre that is forever haunted by the ghost of Dewey Cox, parodying it into oblivion almost two decades ago in Walk Hard. The film, unfortunately, often feels like a mere Wikipedia summary of Bob Dylan's early life, lacking the depth and nuance that could have truly captured the essence of this larger-than-life artist. However, many musical performances and the man at the center, Timothée Chalamet, still moved me. Chalamet loses himself entirely in the role, and it's one of his finest achievements to date. It features a spectacular cast that supports Chalamet's rendition of one of music's most significant figures.

The film delves into Bob Dylan's (Timothée Chalamet) life as he relocates to NYC in the early 1960s and rises to fame in the folk music scene. It skillfully portrays his relationships with Pete Seeger (Edward Norton), Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning), and Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro), adding emotional depth to the narrative. The film's depiction of the complexities in Dylan's personal life, from his highs to his lows, is commendable. It also controversially captures the moment when Dylan switches to electric at the Newport, Rhode Island Folk Festival, a pivotal point in his career.

Chalamet lights it up as Bob Dylan. The passion and charisma he has for his work and how it can completely eat him up alive are thoroughly portrayed in Chalamet's performance. However, it's important to note that his portrayal is more of an impression of the artist rather than an invocation. This means it can sometimes feel a bit distracting when Chalamet is caking on Bob Dylan's hazy voice, but he lands the emotional moments of the film incredibly—just something in his eyes. You can see the genius and pain. It's so cool. His voice and presence on stage are startlingly fantastic that you're just hanging out with Dylan at one of his gigs. It is so natural but matches Dylan's conviction of the art completely.

The other major standout is Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez. Talk about presence, my god. You can't look away from her as she commands the room with her musical performances and the way she stands toe to toe with Chalamet, their eyes locked into one another. It's electric to see their chemistry on stage. Elle Fanning does a great job with the material she is given as the supportive girlfriend stuck in the middle of Dylan's volcanic rise. Norton is as fantastic as Pete Seeger, the man who essentially discovered Dylan in the film but can slowly lose his grasp on this young man and what he means to the world. The cast is a significant film highlight; they all work together to build up and break down the Dylan mythos wonderfully.

The direction and editing are classic Hollywood filmmaking, not showy or flashy. That's cool, trust me. I just gushed about how much I loved Easwood's Juror #2 and how much I missed this type of moviemaking. Some of the lighting on those dark stages is phenomenal! In this genre, which Mangold is all too familiar with as the director of Walk The Line, it comes off as too safe. Say what you want; the insanity and the editing of Baz Luhrman's Elvis at least was going for it. I have to give credit where it's due. The film has no edge, and the whole vibe seems way too clean for New York City in the '60s. The city feels like a cutesy Hallmark commercial at times and not the gritty concrete jungle that incubated and created one of the greatest singer/songwriters of all time. However, Mangold crushes the musical performances and stages them perfectly, and they hit hard, leaving us feeling moved and connected. Then again, I started questioning whether it was the movie or the song. It could be both.

The film is filled with the genre's cliches. There are about 10 scenes where people longingly look at Dylan as he's writing or singing the first words of one of his greatest songs in awe. Dylan struggles with fame, and people yell at him to get it together. Someone states he's the biggest star ever and cuts to news clips of his political influence—lots of just telling the audience, never making us truly feel the artist's weight, and never cracking into what makes Dylan tick. It can feel like a parody. Also, I hate that this movie is rated R. They say fuck like 10 times in the film, and that's what constitutes an R rating?!?! For the cleanest music biopic that doesn't delve into really any sex, nudity, drugs, or anything of the sort, it seems like a bizarre choice that limits who can see this.

If you are a Dylan head like my grandfather, you'll love A Complete Unknown, which rocks! There is incredible comfort in seeing your favorite artist portrayed accurately on the big screen, accompanied by some of his most significant work being performed masterfully. Chalamet is transported into Dylan's body and world, and the supporting cast makes the movie a considerable success. I wanted more, and I think the confines of the genre severely hold it back, especially when some directors take this path.

Final Score: 7/10

Written by Kevin J. Pettit