MOVIE SCENE CANADA
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN
​I Searchlight Pictures I December 25, 2024 I 141 mins. I
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74%
Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, Charlie Tahan,
P.J. Byrne, Boyd Holbrook, Scoot McNairy, Dan Fogler
CAST:
DIRECTOR(S):
James Mangold
* As of 12/10/24
Set in the influential New York music scene of the early '60s, A COMPLETE UNKNOWN follows 19-year-old Minnesota musician BOB DYLAN’s (Timothée Chalamet) meteoric rise as a folk singer to concert halls and the top of the charts – his songs and mystique becoming a worldwide sensation – culminating in his groundbreaking electric rock and roll performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.
REVIEW BY: Darren Zakus - 12/10/24
RATING 4.5 out of 5
A Complete Unknown is an electrifying music biopic exploring Bob Dylan’s career up to the moment he famously went electric, featuring an outstanding cast led by a masterful performance from Timothée Chalamet and brilliant direction from James Mangold, making for one of the year’s best films.
Not only does his latest film see him returning back to the music biopic genre after 2005’s Walk the Line, but A Complete Unknown once again sees director James Mangold depicting famous musician Johnny Cash on screen. This time around though, Johnny Cash is a supporting character, instead with the spotlight being turned to renowned musician Bob Dylan, who is finally getting the biopic treatment after being one of the most prolific musicians in American music history. Taking on the monumental challenge of portraying Bob Dylan is Timothée Chalamet, in yet another phenomenal performance that makes the entire film, supported by some serious talent with a cast that includes Elle Fanning, Edward Norton and Monica Barbaro. Mangold not only directs another exceptional film, but a nuanced character study of Bob Dylan that captures the mystery of this famous musician through Dylan’s words and music, focusing on Dylan’s controversial switch to electric that sent shockwaves through the folk music community.
Every one of music’s biggest stars has that performance they are remembered for. Queen has Live Aid, Elton John has Dodger’s Arena in 1975, The Beatles have their Rooftop Concert in 1969, and Taylor Swift has her Eras Tour, and it makes sense that Mangold and his co-writer Jay Cocks, while adapting the biography by Elijah Wald, build towards Bob Dylan’s infamous performance at Newport Folk Festival ‘65 where he went electric. But unlike the aforementioned performance, Dylan’s was not one that was met with universal praise, but instead booing fans and hostile reaction from the folk music establishment, and Mangold’s film captures all of this while showing Dylan’s rise to stardom and the allure that made him a music superstar in the 60s.
Not attempting to provide a holistic approach to Dylan’s life, as too many biopics fall in the trap of trying to do, the screenplay is firmly rooted in focusing on Dylan’s desire to go electric in the mid 60s, detailing his relationship with the folk music industry as he started off and was taken under the wing of Pete Seeger, his friendships with musicians such as Johnny Cash, Woody Guthrie and Joan Baez, and the complications that arose as Dylan refused to have his career and music defined by the expectations of others as the film nears Newport Folk Festival ‘65. While this leaves aspects of Dylan’s early career largely untouched such as the profound effect of some of his songs had on the civil rights movement like “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The Times They Are a-Changin’” and his early family life, what unfolds on screen is a captivating portrayal of a legend of the music industry that captures his musical genius, his desire to be truthful to his own self, and the enigma that is Bob Dylan, making an almost two and a half hour run time fly by without notice.
At the mere age of twenty-eight, Chalamet has not only worked with some of the most talented directors in the industry including Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve, Greta Gerwig, Wes Anderson, and Luca Guadagnino to name a few, but he has cemented himself as one of Hollywood’s finest actors. It’s not a matter of if Chalamet will ever win an Academy Award, but for what role he will, because all of his performances are stellar and awards worthy, and it's quite possible that his transformation into Bob Dylan may just be that role that earns him his first Academy Award. In front of your eyes, Chalamet disappears and becomes Dylan on screen, capturing his accent and temperament, making the line between performance and reality blur. Much like Dylan, Chalamet keeps up the enigma of this iconic folk musician at the heart of his performance and allows the mystery and allure of Dylan to wash over the audience, giving the audience enough so they can understand Dylan and his motivations, but leaving them with a desire to learn more about Dylan’s illustrious career. With his great live singing and harmonica playing on set, Chalamet not only perfects a portrayal of such a complex and intriguing music icon, he delivers yet another phenomenal performance in the music biopic genre that follows in the footsteps of actors like Rami Malek, Renée Zellweger, and Reese Witherspoon who have gone on to win Oscars for their performances.
Even with Chalamet’s commanding performance dominating the film, the supporting cast is equally as impressive at every turn. Elle Fanning is beautifully devastating as Sylvie Russo, Dylan’s girlfriend at the beginning of his career. As she tries to get to know the man behind the façade, Fanning brings a warmth and compassion to the film as you watch her fall in love with Chalamet’s Dylan, even though both she and the audience know it's a doomed relationship from early on. It leads to some of the film’s most powerful scenes where Fanning will not only break audiences’ hearts, but firmly launches her into the Best Supporting Actress race. Monica Barbaro is mesmerizing as folk artist Joan Baez, possessing a screen presence that lights up alongside Chalamet during the musical performances, while creating one unforgettable figure in Dylan’s life. Barbaro and Fanning both have unbelievable romantic chemistry with Chalamet, creating a complicated and emotionally charged love triangle as these two women both fall for the eccentric Dylan, only to end in two very different places after experiencing contrasting costs that Dylan’s fame had on his personal life.
Edward Norton is brilliant as Pete Seeger, bringing a calm passion for folk music as he mentors a young Dylan and acts as the voice of reason from the folk music establishment as he tries to persuade Dylan not to perform electric at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. While in roles with smaller amounts of screen time, Boyd Holdbrook, Norbert Leo Butz, and Dan Folger are all excellent, though it's Scoot McNairy as Woody Guthrie who stands out among them all. McNairy has to be his generation’s most unsung character actor, and his silent performance as a sick Guthrie is both beautiful and heartbreaking, immediately reminding both Dylan and viewers as to the power of music and why it has such an impact on people’s lives.
There is an undeniable feeling you get while watching a film directed by Mangold, and it immediately washes over you within the first few scenes of A Complete Unknown. Mangold infuses the film with an authenticity from the great production design that recreates not only the folk music scene of the 1960s of New York City, but captures the character of the city itself, the fear hanging over America due to the Cold War and unsettled political situation due to the government and the frustration towards the Vietnam War. With striking visuals, such as the use of lighting for the concert scenes and great sound design that champions the live singing of Chalamet, Barbaro, Holdbrook and Norton, delivering intimate and memorable music performances throughout the film that puts the audience in the centre of the folk music scene, it's a mesmerizing experience. All guided by Mangold’s direction that balances the visuals with the intimate storytelling while evoking great performances from every member of the cast, creating an undeniably brilliant film that only reinforces that Mangold is one of the most talented directors working today.
Music biopics are always crowd pleasers, but when crafted with such talent both in front of and behind the camera, they can easily become one of the best films of the year, and that is exactly what James Mangold accomplishes with A Complete Unknown. Effortlessly capturing the eccentricity and allure of Bob Dylan while chronicling the events of his career that led to his infamous performance at the Newport Folk Music Festival in 1965, Mangold not only evokes spectacular performances from his entire cast in one of the most captivating films of the year, but he does so using the words and music of a music icon that changed American music forever. Led by a transformative and incredible performance by Timothée Chalamet that ranks among one of his finest performances to date, featuring fantastic supporting turns from Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, Scoot McNairy and Edward Norton with stellar live music performances throughout, A Complete Unknown marks a tremendous music biopic from James Mangold that is not only among the year’s best films, but a brilliant biopic that captures the music, talent, legend and enigma that is Bob Dylan