Bob Dylan is his own man, someone who has forged his own path in music, not restricted by convention. A Complete Unknown focuses on what he did and how he did it between 1961 to 1965. Arriving unannounced, with guitar in hand, as a 19-year-old, Dylan seeks out the legendary Woody Guthrie, who is in a veterans’ hospital in New Jersey. With Guthrie is fellow folk singer of renown Pete Seeger.
Dylan plays Guthrie – who is in a bad way, unable to speak (he has Huntington’s disease) – a song he wrote for him. Both Seeger and Guthrie immediately recognise his talent. Seeger opens doors for him and without pretence … with just raw talent, Dylan taps into the culture of the time. Anti-war and civil rights activism are prominent. The US is grappling with profound social, political and cultural upheaval.
Dylan’s rise is meteoric. So, too, his discomfort with the fandom that follows, notwithstanding his pleasure to receive the endorsement of one of the biggest names at the time, Johnny Cash. The film explores Dylan’s intimate relationships too. Specifically, it covers his time with artist and freedom fighter Sylvie Russo (a surrogate for the real-life Suze Rotolo) and Joan Baez. Dylan is very much painted as a wandering soul, who was fickle in affairs of the heart.
Although he was wholeheartedly embraced by the folk music movement, A Complete Unknown shows how he upset the status quo by adopting the electric guitar.
Everything comes to a head at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. This is one mighty fine film that captures the essence of one of the most accomplished singer songwriters in history. It was co-written (with Jay Cocks – Silence) by director James Mangold (Ford v Ferrari), whose dedication to authenticity is impressive.
The look, the feel and the sound of the times are all captured skilfully. As Dylan wrote: The Times They Are A-Changin’. The actors did their own singing and playing, and nailed it after five years of work on the project. Vocally, they are awesome. And, of course, the music is … well the music – the hits and the lesser-known numbers. I am a huge Dylan fan, so say no more. But even if you aren’t, this is a story beautifully told.
Timothée Chalamet is luminous as the enigma that is Bob Dylan, driven by the beat of his own drum. Chalamet is aloof and restless and unrelenting. Elle Fanning wears her heart on her sleeve as Sylvie Russo, who time and again had her heart broken. Her adoration and her disappointment show. With her mellifluous tone, Monica Barbaro is a revelation as Joan Baez. I could readily lose myself in those golden tonsils any day.
As Pete Seeger, Edward Norton is painted as one of the good guys whose love of the art form knows no bounds. Scoot McNairy is a tragic but revered figure as an ailing Woody Guthrie. Boyd Holbrook imbues Johnny Cash with muscularity. Mangold has crafted something special, which captures the essence of a musical genius who refused to be tamed.
Score: 8.5/10
Alex First
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Here are Greg King’s thoughts about the film:
Bob Dylan is, arguably, the most influential musician of the second half of the twentieth century, and his seminal 1965 album Highway 61 Revisited is regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time. This compelling biopic covers the early period of Dylan’s career, from his arrival in New York in 1961, as a 19-year-old, through to his controversial appearance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965, when he played electric guitar, accompanied by a backing band, for the first time, which caused a furore amongst the traditional folk set.
Timothee Chalamet completely inhabits the enigmatic character of Dylan. He even captures Dylan’s distinctive nasally vocal style with many of his songs. From the first moment we see Chalamet, dressed much like the image from the cover of the album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, we accept him as Dylan. This is a much more coherent, engaging and insightful look at Dylan than 2007’s I’m Not There, in which a handful of different actors tried to depict Dylan’s nature and depict different aspects of his life and career. The film takes its title from the lyric of Dylan’s 1965 single Like A Rolling Stone, a six-minute epic, which changed the music game forever.
But this is not exactly a flattering portrait, as director James Mangold and Jay Cocks (a former critic with Rolling Stone magazine, who has written films such as Gangs Of New York) capture his ego, his tempestuous relationships and his uncomfortable relationship with fame and success. Mangold and Cocks have drawn on Elijah Ward’s 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric to shape the screenplay. Dylan himself apparently provided Mangold with notes to help with the script.
Mangold’s direction is typically muscular, with fine attention to detail. The film’s soundtrack is laden with music from the era, with several of Dylan’s iconic songs performed by Chalamet. That, along with his guitar playing adds to the authenticity of the film. The period detail is excellent and cinematographer Phedon Papamichael immerses us in the aesthetic of the early ’60s and the smoke-filled folk music clubs.
The performances are excellent. Chalamet in particular highlights the contradictions and contrary nature of Dylan’s character and delivers his most complete and impressive performance to date. Norton is superb as Pete Seeger, infusing his character with an air of decency and integrity. He conveys Seeger’s disappointment at Dylan’s flaunting of convention at the Newport Folk Festival. Boyd Holbrook brings energy to his role as country superstar Johnny Cash, with whom Dylan enjoyed a long epistolatory relationship of mutual praise. Holbrook effectively captures Cash’s signature shotgun guitar style. Monica Barbaro is very good as the strong-willed Joan Baez. She brings a smouldering quality to the role. Dan Fogler is good as legendary folk music producer Al Grossman. There’s a sadness to Scoot McNairy’s almost wordless performance as the afflicted Guthrie.
We’ve had a number of music biopics in recent years, but A Complete Unknown is one of the best examples of the genre. Even if you are not a fan of Dylan or his music, A Complete Unknown is an absorbing biopic. The film runs for 141 minutes but I was so absorbed in the unfolding story that I was not conscious of the time.
Score: 9/10
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Alex First is the editor of The Blurb. Alex is a Melbourne based journalist and communications specialist. He also contributes to The Blurb on film and theatre.
