Hey, they finally made a movie about the guy teased at the end of “Inside Llewyn Davis!”
That guy, of course, is Bob Dylan (Timothee Chalamet), who gets the big screen biopic treatment thanks to director James Mangold. While not showing the entire decade, “A Complete Unknown” follows Dylan’s life through most of the 60s, showing his musical evolution in a changing world.
The film picks up in 1961 with the Minnesota musician arriving in New York City. Dylan made the trip to the Big Apple to visit a musical hero of his, Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy), who’s suffering from Huntington’s disease. While meeting Guthrie at a hospital, he also runs into fellow folk singer Pete Seeger (Edward Norton), who helps Dylan launch his career.
James Mangold is certainly no stranger to the musical biopic genre, having helmed the Johnny Cash-based film “Walk the Line” nearly two decades ago. At this point, most audiences are familiar with the genre, too, and it’s become repetitive in many cases. The question at this point is how well executed such a movie can be.
Fortunately, Mangold was up to the task here. He got everything he could out of this genre and created a strong portrayal of a well-known artist. It’s certainly straightforward, going through the expected phases of a singer showing early potential to being a full-on star.
However, it’s all done in a mature, insightful manner. Sometimes these types of films can feel overproduced, too melodramatic or generally inauthentic. It’s not the case here, this is a portrait showing Dylan’s commitment to his craft and how his personality caused him to clash with loved ones.
Another area where this movie succeeds where others have fallen short is having numerous good performances over just one. There are times when the main actor’s performance towers above the rest. However, that’s not the case this time around.
There are several scenes with Edward Norton where he steels the show. He disappears as the folk singer Pete Seeger, truly displaying the man’s dedication to folk music and the messages the songs send.
Elle Fanning and Monica Barbaro are also quite impressive as Sylvie Russo and Joan Baez, respectively. They both play women who had up and down relationships with Dylan, while also having their own missions in life, and each give strong performances.
That’s not to say Chalamet doesn’t show up in the role. He’s consistently been great in his career so far, and he’s wonderful again this time around. It’s one thing to just get the voice right, which Chalamet does, including with the songs. But he also brings out the soul of the character.
Boyd Holbrook is also fine as Johnny Cash, though he has limited screentime. It’s also surprising that the audience doesn’t really get a chance to know the other musicians Dylan performed with. It’s understandable that there’s only so much time to dedicate, but it was a bit jarring for some individuals to never fully get introduced.
One can appreciate the aesthetic of the film, though. There’s a real rawness to the picture visually. It captures that era and the mood. The lighting and colors make the film quite atmospheric, especially in scenes where the characters are performing in dark dives.
As said before, this film goes down a well beaten path, and it also just ends somewhat abruptly. Additionally, it feels like there were more sides to Dylan that we didn’t fully get to see. Yet the film is quite good in most respects. The lead cast shines, the film looks good and the drama is earned. 4 out of 5.
Matthew Liedke on Film 
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