Movie Scene: A Complete Unknown

Taking its title from Bob Dylan’s ‘Like A Rolling Stone,’ James Mangold’s biopic details the rise of one of music’s great geniuses Bob Dylan.

Mangold has form with musical biopics, having directed Reese Witherspoon to an Oscar with the terrific, Johnny Cash-inspired ‘Walk The Line’ and I expect this to be in Oscar contention when the nominations are announced today (Thursday).

Based on Elijah Wald’s book, ‘Dylan Goes Electric,’ ‘A Complete Unknown’ covers Dylan’s (Timothee Chalamet) Greenwich Village years, hanging around the folk scene and his rise to prominence. We first meet ‘Bobby Dylan’ as he enters NYC before making a pilgrimage to a New Jersey hospital to meet his hero Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy) and fellow musician Pete Seeger (Edward Norton). Seeger takes the young up-and-comer in, and the film charts his career up until a (supposedly) fateful night at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.

I don’t know how many people remember Todd Haynes’s excellent ‘I’m Not There’ which was about (and simultaneously not about) Dylan with the likes of Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere and Christian Bale playing various ciphers of the man himself. I remember it and, as much as I enjoyed ‘A Complete Unknown,’ Haynes’ film is much more interesting.

That’s not to say that Mangold’s film doesn’t have much to admire.

Mangold does a decent job by, mostly, deftly directing the ship; scooting through scenes and details on Dylan’s attempts to break into the ‘scene’ and his burgeoning relationships, firstly with muse Sylvie Russo AKA Suze Rotolo (Elle Fanning) and then a side thing with fellow folkie Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro).

As well as his love life we get a taste of the musical high notes of Dylan’s catalogue, with origin stories of classics like ‘Blowin In The Wind’, ‘Like A Rolling Stone’, ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ and many more. Then there’s some socio-political stuff regarding civil rights and the Cuban Missile Crisis and Dylan’s decision to ‘go electric’. The storytelling is mostly fine, although it does feel a little clunky particularly in the romantic arena and lines like ‘your songs are like an oil painting at the dentist’s office’ feel off as well.

There’s a scene where Baez, frantic to get home for fear of nuclear war, stops in the street when she hears Dylan singing in a club and, once he finishes, kisses him.

‘A Complete Unknown’ is an appropriate title because, like the enigmatic real-life figure, Chalamet’s great performance portrays a man of mystery, unable or unwilling to share any part of his life he doesn’t need, skulking round the screen, the epitome of mumbling aloofness and arrogance. I was never bored but never fully captivated either.

The various musical interludes are of exceedingly high quality with Chalamet, Barolo, Norton, and Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash all doing their own singing. Outside of Chalamet, Barolo does well with little screen time as does Fanning, Holbrook and Dan Fogler as Dylan’s manager Albert. Norton has the lion’s share of screentime opposite Chalamet and gives a nice folksy ‘aw shucks’ performance.

Terrific music and great acting, ‘A Complete Uknown’ is one even non-Dylan acolytes will enjoy.