Entertaining, engrossing, and educational, it’s hard not to leave James Mangold’s (3:10 to Yuma, Ford v Ferrari) A Complete Unknown disappointed. While many will call it a paint-by-numbers musical biopic (which is completely justified), it does three things that recent films, such as Bob Marley: One Love, Rocketman (Elton John), Back to Black (Amy Winehouse), Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody, and Elvis couldn’t do. It held my interest throughout its 140-minute runtime. It implored me to read Bob Dylan’s Wikipedia page. It led to an interest in looking up the songs performed in the film that I had not heard before. The musical biopic genre has been bad for nearly 20 years (Bohemian Rhapsody and Straight Outta Compton are outliers). A Complete Unknown feels like a companion piece to two fabulous turn-of-the-century musical biopics with terrific lead performances in 2004’s Ray (Jaime Foxx as Ray Charles) and Walk the Line (Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash). Each film landed the lead performer an Oscar nomination, including a win for Foxx.
Focusing on Dylan’s life from his 1961 arrival in New York City to the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, Mangold’s focus is on Dylan’s discovery by folk singer Pete Seeger (Edward Norton – The Painted Veil, Moonrise Kingdom) to his well-received performances in Greenwich folk clubs to performing songs he wrote, rather the covers of others to his record deal and debut album a year later to his 1963 second album and ascending popularity to his switch from a string guitar to an electric one and, in doing so, a change from folk to rock music, somewhat splitting his fanbase. Furthering the divisiveness is when he wrote his setlists based on what he felt like performing rather than the fan favorites that established him as a star.
Before I get too far into the review, it would be unjust not to discuss Timothée Chalamet’s (Call Me by Your Name, Dune) portrayal of Dylan. While many initially questioned if Chalamet was the right actor for the part, he silenced his critics quickly. He transforms from Chalamet to Dylan within the first few moments. Most notably, this occurs when he performs an original song to Seeger and Dylan’s idol, Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy – C’mon C’mon, Speak No Evil). Dylan wins over both musicians with his raspy voice, poignant verses, and catchy chorus. Within minutes, Seeger knows he has struck gold. And for two and a half hours, so did we.
As mentioned, A Complete Unknown is not a cradle-to-the-grave feature, a format with more chance of failure, forcing the audience to digest too much in too little time. We often get two or three versions of each character at different ages, leading to confusion or frustration. Mangold used Elijah Wald’s 2015 biography, Dylan Goes Electric! Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties as his source material. It was the right decision, and the book-to-script adaptation, for the most part, worked well.
Dylan is in every scene, even if he’s more of a background figure while other characters share dialogue. Mangold presents Dylan as an enigma, somewhat of a recluse who shares little of his past with others. As he found fame, he refused to fit any mold or desire to attempt to meet the expectations of others, regardless of who those might be. Mangold is not saying that Dylan was selfish but rather a private introvert whose fame, perhaps, felt too overwhelming. His connection to others was more of the songs he presented to the masses than conversations with people with whom he had more intimate relations.
Suze Rotolo (Elle Fanning – 20th Century Women, Live by Night) played Dylan’s girlfriend for parts of the film. While he clearly adored her, he couldn’t be 100% with her. He kept things private from her, including his childhood and family. As his fame grew, their relationship faltered. Fanning has multiple scenes where the look on her face alone while observing a situation is why she’s getting some Best Supporting Actress buzz. Her joy and sadness were immense. She knew what she wanted.
The other major character is Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro – Top Gun: Maverick, At Midnight), a rising star and already-established musician who sang on Dylan’s first album and who he performed in tandem with at concerts and musical festivals. Dylan and Joan start and end a relationship during the film. Barbaro was a fabulous counterpart for Chalamet, matching him scene for scene, whether in their dual guitar playing and song singing or the private duels during their relationship. She is on a shortlist for Best Supporting Actress as well. Through Suze and Joan, we see two women that Dylan adored but who he wasn’t willing to share with them in a way that he so effortlessly did with his songwriting. Each actress did a fantastic job.
A Complete Unknown finished a close second to Civil War. My experience was full of joy, almost exclusively due to Chalamet. Whether it was a performance scene or not, I couldn’t take my eyes off the actor and how he disappeared into the role. While his singing was incredibly impressive, I was flabbergasted that he learned to play the guitar and harmonica for this part, performing more than 35+ songs. The supporting characters who did their best to love Dylan, only to end up hurt by him, allowed Chalamet’s acting and Mangold’s tight script to show further what an amiga this singer is. To know Dylan means listening to his music and paying particular attention to his songwriting. Time and time again, he showed that his songs told more about him than any amount of time spent with him, which was what he preferred. While that may sound bizarre to many, it resonated with me, as I’m more interested in creating characters and writing stories than engaging in conversation nine times out of ten. It certainly can make for a lonelier existence, but it beats faking a facade if it allows a person to stay true to themselves.
Civil War was my best movie experience of 2024. It was a wild ride, filled with unexpected twists and turns. It had several standout performances while delivering such a profound and impactful message, explicitly saying what that message was, taking sides, or even what led to the film’s conflict. I was entranced. The films Challengers and The Substance I also will have higher on my end-of-the-year top ten. While I enjoyed A Complete Unknown more, it didn’t leave me thinking about it for days and weeks later. Challengers and The Substance were two films that went far below the surface, allowing me to see more layers as I thought about it, talked to people about it, read about it, or watched a review. Challengers took one of the oldest stories we know and added many twists, causing us to question our perception of what was happening. The Substance was original and timely with its jolting and revolting body horror story. A Complete Unknown was a musician biopic. While A Complete Unknown was pleasurable and fascinating, it was still a musician biopic. And for an R-rated film, it didn’t go deep enough into some of the story’s darker or more intimate parts. It felt much more like a PG-13 movie.
A Complete Unknown is a sensational film with terrific performances, rich characters, entertaining music, and linear storytelling. It’s in the upper echelon of biopics. It’s easiest to compare it to Walk the Line. If you enjoyed that film, you will enjoy this one equally, if not more. Chalamet is the best he’s ever been. Fanning and Barbaro are equally excellent in their roles. Mangold naturally flushes out each of his characters, particularly with Dylan, who we watch transform as a performer and non-performing, influenced by his own experiences and the historical events around him. Mangold lets us know those events and see how they changed Dylan and his music.
Plot 8.5/10
Character Development 10/10
Character Chemistry 10/10
Acting 10/10 (It’s hard to see Chalamet not winning the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
Screenplay 8.75/10
Directing 9.25/10
Cinematography 7.5/10 (Rarely did it feel like I was watching a film from the 1960s era. It felt like I was watching some from a far more recent period)
Sound 10/10
Hook and Reel 9.5/10
Universal Relevance 9.75/10
93.25%
A
Movies You Might Like If You Liked This Movie
- Ray
- Walk the Line
- Bohemian Rhapsody
- Elvis
- Straight Outta Compton