A Complete Unknown review: One of the most convincing interpretations of a musician ever
Timothée Chalamet is perfect as Bob Dylan in this new biopic from director James Mangold.
Timothée Chalamet is an actor who relishes a challenge, as evidenced by his stepping into the shoes of an enigmatic, instantly recognisable cultural icon, knowing his portrayal runs the risk of dividing - or even alienating - millions of lifelong fans. But that’s enough about Willy Wonka…
Anyone taking on the movie mantle of Bob Dylan would be subject to near forensic scrutiny, and while Chalamet does so with confidence, skill and subtlety, there remains the possibility of his outstanding performance being overshadowed, in the eyes of some, by a screenplay where the truths they are a-changin’.
The intense fervour of a certain stripe of Dylan devotee has made A Complete Unknown the most talked-about biopic in years, propelled by its makers’ delight in holding an unusually high number of sneak previews prior to the film’s official release in both America and the UK.
Consequently, internet forums and message boards of a diehard Dylanologist bent (the "dork web", if you will) have been ablaze with debates over dramatic licence playing fast and loose with the facts.
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Hot topics include why Bob’s pre-fame girlfriend has undergone a change of name, the poking of holes in the framing of his often fragile relationship with fellow folkie Joan Baez, and bafflement over the infamous audience heckle of "Judas!" being shown as taking place in a different year and country.
However, according to director James Mangold, the singer himself was complicit in some of the intermittent detours from historical accuracy, as he was for the more playful elements of Martin Scorsese’s semi-fictionalised 2019 documentary Rolling Thunder (did anyone really think Sharon Stone had an affair with Dylan in her teens?).
Taking author Elijah Ward’s 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric! as its spine, A Complete Unknown undoubtedly toys with the conventions of biopics, weaving more speculative thoughts into a timeline that begins with the singer arriving in New York in 1961 and ends with the controversy of him outraging the old guard with an amplified cacophony at the Newport Folk Festival four years later.
In many ways, the "going electric" incident serves as a culminate peg for Dylan’s deeper rooted sense of, if not rebellion, then certainly resistance to what others expect of him ("They should just let me be… whatever it is they don’t want me to be," he says).
That dissatisfaction is illustrated by scenes in which he uncomfortably jumps through hoops for middle-class intellectuals at an uptown party, or sprints to escape the feverish attentions of young (mostly female) fans on the streets of Greenwich Village, both telling instances of Chalamet reacting to his surroundings with remarkably understated nuance.
It’s just one component of richly layered depiction that impresses at every turn; the slightly-hunched, wiry-framed physicality of Dylan is perfect, as is the part-mumble, part-staccato approximation of the singer’s speech patterns, and then there’s the small matter of the music.
Chalamet was tasked with learning to both sing and play upwards of 40 songs in preparation for filming, and while he opts to avoid cold or clinical carbon copies, he imbues every one of them with purpose, eloquently capturing the essence of Dylan.
It’s there right from the start when Bob makes a pilgrimage to meet his hero Woody Guthrie in hospital and plays the song he wrote especially for him, to the pleasure of Guthrie’s other visitor, Dylan’s first (and perhaps only true) mentor Pete Seeger.
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As Dylan’s talent evolves, Chalamet himself gets bolder and more assured, inhabiting not just the skin of the man he’s pretending to be but the potency of the words he sings - among many highlights, his take on The Times They Are a-Changin’ is a genuine lump-in-the-throat moment.
Special mention is due to Edward Norton as folk traditionalist Seeger, palpably conveying conflict and heartbreak as his friendship with the man in the spotlight goes from earnest father figure to reluctant adversary.
The role helps add even more texture to what Chalamet achieves in one of the most complex and convincing interpretations of a real-life musician ever seen on film - imagined in places, perhaps, but nonetheless a cool, charismatic Dylan who should strike a chord with all but the most reticent of his followers.
A Complete Unknown will be available to watch in UK cinemas from 17th January 2025.
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