A Complete Unknown Movie Review: Directed by James Mangold, A Complete Unknown with Timothée Chalamet in the role of a young Bob Dylan arrives in theaters on January 23, distributed by The Walt Disney Company Italia.
James Mangold is probably one of the most chameleonic directors around. Although none of his works – Cop Land, Girl, Interrupted, 3:10 to Yuma, Logan: The Wolverine, Le Mans ’66 – The Great Challenge – can actually be defined as innovative, his ability to tell, through the genre, engaging stories and in most cases also of great emotional impact, is probably the characteristic that more than any other has allowed him to build a reputation as an excellent craftsman.
Of all the genres, the biopic – especially the musical one – is perhaps the most inclined to give in to the traps of clichés and stereotyped formulas. However, Mangold himself had already shown in the past that he could master it with great mastery (the film was Walk the Line from 2005, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, and based on the story of Johnny Cash and his relationship with June Carter). With his latest film, A Complete Unknown, in theaters from January 23, the American director once again faces the challenge of bringing the story of a music icon to the big screen: this time, the choice fell on none other than Bob Dylan.
It is not the first time that Dylan's story has been told on film: many, before Mangold, had tried to approach the figure of a man - and an artist - who has always been considered a true enigma (in this sense, the most brilliant attempt was probably that of Todd Hayes with the film I'm Not There from 2007, in which several actors - including Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger and Cate Blanchett - played characters who represented a different aspect of Dylan's life and music).
Mangold’s approach is undoubtedly more conventional, in a noble attempt to demonstrate that the narrative of Dylan’s life from a more linear perspective is still possible. A Complete Unknown certainly does not escape the many tropes of the genre to which it belongs, but it still finds a bold and in its own way exciting way to tell the story of a legend.
A Complete Unknown: The voice and the symbol of a generation
Based on the book “The Day Bob Dylan Got an Electric Guitar,” A Complete Unknown – written by James Mangold together with Jay Cocks – known for collaborating with Martin Scorsese on the films The Last Temptation of Christ and Silence – scrupulously chooses to focus only on a few years of Dylan’s life, rather than trying to enclose his entire existence in its full-bodied 141 minutes of running time.
We meet Dylan (played by Timothée Chalamet) as “Bobby” in 1961 when he has just moved from Minnesota to New York. After he arrives in the Big Apple, the young musician tries to meet his idol, Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy), who he discovers is hospitalized in a New Jersey hospital. It is here that “Bobby” will meet another folk legend, Pete Seeger (Edward Norton): after playing for them, Woody and Pete realize that they are in front of a truly special artist.
“Bobby” thus begins to make his way into the folk music scene; at the same time, his path crosses with that of Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning) and Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro), who will become the two fundamental female figures in his life. Sylvie – a character modeled on the painter Suze Rotolo, known for having inspired and influenced the compositional style in the early part of Dylan’s career – is young, still looking for her place in the world, but deeply in love with “Bobby”; Joan, on the other hand, is on the verge of becoming a music icon and forms an artistic connection with the young Dylan that he cannot share with Sylvie, giving rise to a complex and difficult relationship. As he climbs the folk hierarchy, “Bobby” begins to gain more and more fans and admirers, including Johnny Cash (Boyd Holbrook), and establishes himself as one of the most important artists of the era.
A Complete Unknown finally moves to 1965, a pivotal year for Dylan, in which he recorded what is arguably his most famous album, “Highway 61 Revisited”; the film culminates with the Newport Folk Festival, where Dylan caused a stir because of his electric turn. Throughout this four-year time frame, we see how quickly Dylan went from being a struggling musician to becoming the voice and symbol of an entire generation, but above all, an artist who simply wanted to do what he loved with his art, without the limitations imposed by the industry.
The beating heart of A Complete Unknown: the music
One of the most shrewd choices that James Mangold makes in A Complete Unknown is probably that of making Bob Dylan's music the true protagonist of the film. The director focuses in particular on the performance of the songs (both in the studio and live), a unique vehicle of the genius and depth of the singer-songwriter. The power of Dylan's music is therefore at the center of A Complete Unknown: Mangold is not interested in recounting the existence of "Bobby", but in underlining the importance of Bob Dylan's precious repertoire, succeeding effectively.
The screenplay written in collaboration with Jay Cocks emphasizes how Dylan's style was crucial in shaping the folk music scene of those years and how his lyrics were able to capture the atmosphere of an era compared to anyone else in the music scene. Through Dylan's story, the film emphasizes the beauty and soul of folk, highlighting how the Prophet was able to fully exploit the boundless possibilities that music can offer, becoming a true innovator and combining social protest with poetic introspection.
Undoubtedly, A Complete Unknown is a biopic that follows its own predefined pattern: beyond the mere chronology of events, however, it is the importance of the songs and the consequences of Dylan's choices as a musician that become the beating heart of the film.
Although the general structure appears extremely conventional, it is precisely the focus on music and its importance, combined with the extraordinary performances of the entire cast, that maintains the general balance of the entire film. Timothée Chalamet is extraordinary as Dylan:
without ever bordering on caricature, the star of Call Me by Your Name and the Dune series manages to capture the confidence of talent, the awkward unpredictability and the enigmatic aspect of Dylan's personality, along with the charm, the magnetism and the frustration of feeling trapped by other people's expectations. Taking on a role like "Bobby" seemed like an impossible task; and yet, the young actor manages to give one of his best performances to date.
A supporting cast that is nothing short of excellent
Chalamet is nevertheless flanked by a supporting cast that is nothing short of excellent. Monica Barbaro (Top Gun: Maverick) is extraordinary as Joan Baez, the only one who seems to truly understand Dylan's mindset; their mutual respect is one of the most interesting dynamics of the film.
Edward Norton (Glass Onion – Knives Out) is equally convincing as Pete Seeger, who takes on an almost paternal role in Dylan’s life: on the one hand, he immediately recognizes the talent of the then-young musician, on the other he tries to guide and advise him, despite his frustrations.
Worthy of note is undoubtedly Scoot McNairy (Speak No Evil) in the role of Woody Guthrie, who only through the power of a look manages to convey all the importance he attributes to Dylan for the future of folk music; his friendship with “Bobby” represents, unexpectedly, the most touching aspect of the film.
Balancing Dylan’s unpredictability we find instead Elle Fanning (already alongside Chalamet in A Rainy Day in New York) in the role of Sylvie Russo, who never manages to emotionally connect with the singer-songwriter as much as she would like; their bond is of great importance to both of them, even if they often try to pretend otherwise. Also full of charm is the interpretation of Boyd Holbrook (Mangold's fetish actor, also seen in the latest Indiana Jones) in the role of Johnny Cash, which generates a very pleasant emotional and narrative "short circuit" with the aforementioned Walk the Line.
In the sea magnum of musical biopics, which have become rather ordinary operations, A Complete Unknown will certainly not be remembered as the example destined to redefine the genre. However, James Mangold's film manages to ride the wave in a more than dignified manner, aware of the limits inherent in the representation of an unfathomable dimension that has always hovered around the figure of a "completely unknown", whose essential production we can do nothing but continue to appreciate. The result is a film perhaps less engaging and exciting than one would have expected, but still deeply aware of the crystalline reconstruction of an extremely significant period in the life of one of the greatest artists of our time.