The task of creating a film about Bob Dylan’s life is seemingly insurmountable. Dylan, one of the most influential musical artists of all time, went through numerous aesthetic shifts throughout his career. Capturing a post-1966 motorcycle crash Dylan, a Rolling Thunder Revue Dylan or even reformed Christian Dylan in a two hour runtime is impossible.
Director James Mangold recognized this, and created “A Complete Unknown;” Dylan’s second definitive biopic that focuses solely on his earliest (and probably most drastic) aesthetic shift, going electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.
The musical biopic genre has been overdone by the entertainment industry in the past ten years or so, with films like “The Dirt” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” for example. It has resulted in boring, drawn out films that, despite having plenty of intrigue and standout performances, ultimately fail to make any sort of artistic statement. The genre attempts to solve whatever artist they’re analyzing, and in doing so, fails to create a compelling film.
However, it was intriguing to see that the Dylan biopic was going to limit the focus to about five years of a nearly 60 year career. This is what the genre needed: a revival that would allow the audience to sink their teeth into a fuzzy and mystic figure of rock history. Hollywood’s newfound leading man and Dylan look alike, Timothée Chalamet, was tasked with portraying Dylan.
For a figure like Dylan it would be difficult to deliver a performance that doesn’t come across as an SNL-like impression. His nasally voice and strange mannerisms are traits that if portrayed on screen could be disastrous. Chalamet, however, delivered a phenomenal performance. From the moment he appears on screen, he suspends his audience’s disbelief and convinces them that they are watching Dylan navigate the troubling waters of young stardom.
It’s also worth noting that Chalamet and the rest of the cast did all the singing and music live in front of the camera. On top of that, the recording equipment and microphones were all vintage pieces from the 1960s, creating an authentic experience for the viewer. I appreciated Chalamet’s singing most of all because everyone has a Bob Dylan singing impression, and his comes across uniquely while still imitating the iconic tonal quality of Dylan’s abrasive voice.
Outside of Chalamet, the rest of the performances were fine. Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez and Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash also did well with their singing parts. Edward Norton’s portrayal of folk musician Pete Seeger is superb and should be nominated for “Best Supporting Actor” at this year’s Oscars. Similarly to Chalamet’s performance, you forget that you’re watching Norton on screen. His soft spoken nature serves as an intriguing juxtaposition to Dylan.
Elle Fanning also does what she can with her lazily written portrayal of Dylan’s girlfriend. One of her notable moments consisted of her crying while Dylan sang on stage with Baez portraying an undeniable chemistry.
For the Dylan fan, this is the ultimate sing-along fan fest but for someone largely unfamiliar with his music, the two and a half hour runtime could be daunting. This film spends a lot of time with the music, and often lets Chalamet or Barbaro sing an entire song. No doubt, an intentional move, but could get old after the first few times.
Any rock fan can appreciate this moment in the genre’s history being brought back into the spotlight and immortalized through a film. I thought the movie emphasized the importance of Dylan’s musical transformation, and how earth shattering it was when he plugged in his electric guitar and started playing the raucous “Maggie’s Farm.”
The film doesn’t tell you what to think about Dylan, instead it gives you the good, the bad and the ugly of his early career and lets the audience decide for themselves. As complicated as a figure Dylan is, this was the correct way to approach a film about him. He’s strange and almost mystical — so portray him as such — and Mangold and Chalamet do that very well.
Nick Hancock 
Tony Le Calvez