Director James Mangold crafted something more than a simple biopic
Woody Guthrie is dying. Huntington’s disease has robbed the voice of one of the most prolific and outspoken folk singers to ever exist. His machine isn’t killing fascists anymore, and although Pete Seger’s doing what he can with his banjo, it’s impossible to ignore the miasma of death that has settled over these two giants and the genre they represent.
A Complete Unknown isn’t a movie about Bob Dylan. It is a story about the death rattle of one music genre and the birth of another. The book the movie is adapted from—Dylan Goes Electric—has a far more apt title than the film. Of course, I’m sure that the producers couldn’t pass on a chance to title the movie with a lyric from one of the most famous songs of all time.
That, and ‘A Complete Unknown’, coupled with a dramatic image of Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan on all the posters, draws you in. It makes you realise how little you know about one of the most famous musicians of all time. Maybe you’ll go and see that one; find out a little more about Bob Dylan’s life.
Alas, you’ve been had. You won’t find many answers here. Never fear, though. A Complete Unknown is better than the trite biopic slop you’ve been fed a thousand times before.
To Be Without A Home
After crossing the country to meet dying folk-music hero Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy), a young Bob Dylan (Chalamet) falls into the sphere of Pete Seger (Edward Norton), who takes the young musician under his wing. As he takes the first steps of his music career, Dylan becomes tangled in complicated romantic relationships and finds himself straining against the expectations of the music industry.
A caveat: yes, Bob Dylan is the protagonist of A Complete Unknown. You might think I was stretching things by claiming this movie isn’t about him—but it really isn’t. True to the title, Dylan is a void of biographical information throughout this movie. He is a man with a maybe-fake backstory, a maybe-fake name, and an unreadable presence.
You might thank this makes Dylan a character ripe for intrigue, but A Complete Unknown doesn’t devote much energy to understanding the inner workings of this enigmatic man. Sure, some characters attempt an understanding—namely Elle Fanning’s Sylvie and Monica Barbaro’s Joan Baez—but their attempts only become more futile as Dylan’s star rises higher and higher.
Club Chalamet
For the most part, director James Mangold simply throws up his hands and says ‘Look, I don’t know any more than you, but this is what happened. Read into it what you’d like.’ The result is a purposefully frustrating emotional detachment from the character of Bob Dylan as he saunters through the movie swathed by layers of quiet stoicism and a pair of iconic shades.
It’s wonderful. In taking this approach, Mangold swerves around the melodramatic pitfalls of low-tier biopics and comes out the other end channelling the only thing that makes Dylan interesting in the first place: his music. This is where Chalamet earns his Oscar nomination. He is, simply put, phenomenal. It’s not just the voice, but the voice in conjunction with his guitar-playing and his ability to perform that cannot fail to impress.
Mangold makes the smart choice of lingering on Chalamet’s performances; of putting a guitar in arm’s reach of the man in nearly every scene; of acknowledging that we won’t care about the arc of Dylan’s career if we don’t first experience the craft and emotion behind his songs. And it all builds to a live performance crackling with drama and tension that will have you on the edge of your seat as Dylan rips into a song that begins ‘Once upon a time…’
You Dressed So Fine
Musical biopics generally aren’t my favourite genre. It’s incredibly difficult to pull off a satisfying character arc when you’re limited to events that actually happened, and the perils of stratospheric fame have become cliché. A Complete Unknown doesn’t manage to completely avoid running into these hurdles—but it does stumble over them with grace and picks itself back up promptly enough.
The movie is also packed with an astonishing supporting cast. Norton and Barbaro have both been nominated for Best Supporting Actor/Actress at the Oscars this year, but it’s easy to believe in a world where either Fanning or Boyd Holbrook—who plays one Mr. Cash—could’ve been nominated instead. Hell, even Scoot McNairy does wonders as Woody Guthrie in the few minutes he’s on screen.
As someone who doesn't have strong feelings about Bob Dylan one way or another, I can't recommend this movie enough. There's a reason it's been nominated for Best Picture, and unlike some other nominees, I think this one is actually worth your time.
Thanks for reading my review of A Complete Unkown. If you liked it, consider checking out my wishlist or buying me a cup of coffee at https://ko-fi.com/kieranobrien or below.
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