Directed by: James Mangold
Starring: Timothee Chalamet, Elle Fanning, Edward Norton, Boyd Holbrook, Scoot McNairy, Monica Barbaro
A Complete Unknown tells Bob Dylan's story from when he was a complete unknown traveling from Minnesota to New York and dropping in unannounced on Woody Guthrie's hospital room. Bob Dylan (Chalamet) sings a song he wrote about Woody to Woody with Pete Seeger (Norton) sitting bedside. Both are impressed, and Pete takes Bob into his home. Soon, Dylan is performing in the folk clubs in Greenwich Village and a superstar is born.
A Complete Unknown, directed by James Mangold, is not a standard biopic. It focuses on the first four years of Dylan's career, culminating in the 1965 Newport Folk Festival where Dylan "went electric" to the shock and horror of the festival's arrangers and the fans. This was only the tip of the iceberg of the unrest to come not just for Dylan but for American society. We witness Dylan emerge creatively and find his voice as a singer and songwriter. We also see him become a selfish, self-important prick to those who care for him. The more he grew as an artist, the more insecure he became as a person. Chalamet unabashedly captures this essence of Bob Dylan and fearlessly plunges forward. He sings the songs and plays the instruments, and isn't merely a Dylan impersonator.
Mangold, who also directed the great Walk the Line (2005) about Johnny Cash, also includes Cash (Holbrook) in A Complete Unknown as a Dylan admirer from afar who is fully supportive of Dylan's evolution from folk to electric rock. Pete Seeger is not as gung-ho about the idea, and this causes a sad rift between he and Dylan. The same goes with Joan Baez (Barbaro), whose fame is soon eclipsed by Dylan's as they begin an off-and-on, tempestuous personal and professional relationship. Also present is Dylan's initial girlfriend Sylvie (Fanning), who confesses that she really knows nothing about her boyfriend.
The movie isn't a Dylan concert, but there are plenty of performances of his famous early songs, and they serve to show a progression of Dylan's escalation in confidence, creativity, and popularity. We see his character forming the more he performs. Chalamet is an excellent singer, and so much so, we understand more from Dylan's music than even when he speaks, which is precisely how I imagine Dylan would like it. The movie sees much and sees through, and it's thoroughly engrossing.
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