Timothee Chalamet’s portrayal of Bob Dylan makes this film another love letter to the singer.
Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Marcus Carl Franklin, Ben Whishaw, and the late Heath Ledger have represented different aspects of Bob Dylan’s life in Todd Haynes’ “I’m Not There.” And now, Timothee Chalamet portrays him in James Mangold’s biopic “A Complete Unknown.” This is his first music biopic since “Walk the Line,” which focused on Johnny Cash, and he shares his passion for both singers, and so do we.
There’s a scene later in “A Complete Unknown” when Bob is chased by girls-his adoring fans. I love the shot of him running into a cab and the girls pursing him, as he realizes what will come out of his fame. And I recall seeing Chalamet at a screening of “Little Women,” and the girls-his adoring fans-were all a twitter with him. So, I think he’s a perfect match to play him in his youth. But he also portrays the singer with his air, age, and charming appeal.
In this movie, we see him entertaining the Huntington’s stricken singer Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy), befriending Peter Seeger (Edward Norton), having a small romance with Sylvia Russo (Elle Fanning), having a small affair with Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro), meeting Johnny Cash (Boyd Holbrook, a Mangold regular), and having his music career go through the roof. Of course, he did have his controversy over his use of electric instruments at the Newport Folk Festival.
My favorite line from Dylan in the movie is: “They should F off and let me be whatever it is they don’t want me to be.”
And we also acknowledge what’s went on in the world around him. The Cuban Missile Crisis, and assassinations of both JFK and Malcolm X are examples of what went down in the 60s. And they don’t derail the story; in fact they keep it grounded and merged with the times.
I can’t confirm that everything in the story is accurate (and Dylan requested the film to not use Sylvia Russo’s real name, which is Suze Rotolo), but it can play like a cover version of Bob Dylan’s life, and it delivers with a stylish, charming, sometimes hilarious, and lively aspect. Based on Dylan Wald’s book “Dylan Goes Electric!,” this movie knows the stakes of his music career, his new aspect in music, and how everyone would take it. And it also knows that its target audience will stay until the end.
I still think that Chalamet is perfect for the role of Dylan. I’m not saying that because he’s a big movie star (with big hits like “Call Me By Your Name,” “Wonka,” or the “Dune” movies), but because he knows how to merge with the singer, and how he acknowledges his personality. And plus, he doesn’t act all self-congratulatory about himself, because he has some entertaining supporting work.
Fanning uses the right range of tone and emotions to represent how her character feels about the singer within his music career and life. Barbaro has a small but affective role as Baez. Norton displays vibrance and attitude as Seeger, especially in an earlier courtroom scene. McNairy makes the right expressions as the ill Guthrie. And even Dan Fogler has his moments as Bob’s manager Albert Grossman.
“A Complete Unknown” is also a great looking film, photographed by Phedon Papamichael (who worked on some of Mangold’s films like “3:10 to Yuma” and “Ford v Ferarri”), edited by Andrew Buckland and Scott Morris, and directed by Mangold. The Dylan music and the somber aspect has us relaxed and enjoying what comes out of the movie, and what the movie takes from Dylan’s life. This is one of the year’s best films.
In Theaters Christmas Day