A Complete Unknown (2024)

"A Complete Unknown" stars Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, Boyd Holbrook, Dan Fogler, Norbert Leo Butz, and Scoot McNairy.  Released on December 25, 2024, the film explores Bob Dylan's switch to playing electric instruments.

The film was directed by James Mangold, who also directed films such as "Cop Land", "Walk the Line", "Logan", and "Ford v Ferrari".  It is based on the 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric! by Elijah Wald.  Artists and celebrities often do something unique to their crafts and hobbies on specific occasions to stand out from the crowd.  While most of the changes weren't without controversy and alienation from their followers, they tend to grow more appreciated for how they impacted how we view the industries' traditional playbooks.  One specific example comes from folk musician Bob Dylan, whose change from traditional folk music to electrically amplified rock caused quite a stir in the folk music world.  However, it also led to the development of a fusion genre known as "folk rock", resulting in him producing some of his best music in his career, including "Like a Rolling Stone".  This game-changing event served as the topic of the latest cinematic outing depicting Bob Dylan's career that's looking to dominate the Christmas biopic competition.  Was this musical harmony able to defy the biopic narrative odds?  Let's find out.

The film follows the true story of musician Bob Dylan (Chalamet).  Dylan moved to New York City in 1961 to meet his idol, Woody Guthrie (McNairy), at the hospital.  After impressing Woody and folk musician Pete Seeger (Norton) with his song, Seeger and Dylan work together to make the latter well-known in the music industry.  During this time, Bob Dylan faced numerous challenges in his career as he rose to stardom for his socially conscious songwriting.  Those include his struggle to make original music and his relationships with Sylvie Russo (Fanning) and musician Joan Baez (Barbaro).  This led to Dylan's decision to use electric instruments during the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, which could either heighten or destroy his career for good.

Bob Dylan is another musician that I wasn't fully aware of until this film.  Of course, that is mainly due to me not growing up with his music.  I guess that's what happens when you're born during the period of rock and roll and cheesy pop music.  Regardless, I was willing to watch "A Complete Unknown" to gather more insight into the iconic artist in the folk genre.  That includes the controversial decision to use electric instruments during his appearance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.  Another reason for my interest was Timothée Chalamet, who hasn't had a single miss in his career since he captured my attention in 2017's "Call Me by Your Name".  His performance has landed Chalamet in the awards competition once again, which makes sense considering his resemblance to Bob Dylan and even his talents onscreen.  But, even with Chalamet's exceptional skills as an actor, the project he's involved in matters most regarding the quality and faithfulness to Dylan's controversial impact in the folk music industry.      
                
It's no secret that musical biopics are my cup of tea for several reasons.  One primary reason is that it made me admire the respective artist or band that influenced the music world, even if it meant making risky decisions to make it big.  "A Complete Unknown" is no exception to this rule regarding Dylan's distinctive musical style.  While I respect the political and social commentary in his song lyrics, I also admire his risky and different approach to folk music with an electric band.  It appeared to be a significant gamble at the time, as most people were more acquainted with traditional music, particularly folk. However, it ultimately paid off, becoming one of the most notable moments in Dylan's career, despite being more alienating than his conventional folk music. The film itself would certainly evoke similar feelings in its audience, including the artist's fans, with enough effort in its quality to hit most of its narrative notes.

"A Complete Unknown" is another well-directed biopic that's familiar in its formula yet charming and gorgeous in its quality and talent.  If you've seen previous music biopics involving specific musicians, you've practically seen "A Complete Unknown".  You got the successful accomplishments involving one's career and personal life, and even the not-so-successful ones from both sides.  However, amid those moments, the film showcased Dylan's rise from being an unknown character with an unclear past to a rising star in the folk music community, but at the cost of being restrained by the industry's traditions.  It depicts Bob's struggle to break free from the industry's conventional limitations in favor of artistic freedom, leading him to experiment with electric and rock instruments at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.  However, it isn't without a few consequences that he left behind upon doing so.  Many celebrities have faced this situation throughout their careers, whether in the music business or the film industry.  However, their willingness to defy the norm with their creative voices is why they stood out and became relevant.  

It's a tried-and-true tale of artistic freedom that examines the music industry's desire to maintain normal expectations and fear of alienating its consumers with something unusual.  Of course, considering it's about Bob Dylan in the 1960s, the film also included plenty of political and social events that led him to become a counter-culture figure.  On the one hand, the screenplay by James Mangold and Jay Cocks was a decent attempt at honoring some of Bob Dylan's accomplishments through its dialogue and themes.  On the other hand, it didn't transcend beyond its creative boundaries as much as Dylan did with his folk rock music regarding the genre's formula.  This is another conventional biopic that plays through the narrative basics we've seen before and doesn't delve too deep into its characters and thematic undertones.  While it's rated R due to the language, "A Complete Unknown" is pretty tame in depicting Bob Dylan's obstacles in his career and personal issues despite some of its entertaining moments.  It also doesn't help that the film was twenty minutes too long, with a few scenes that overstayed its welcome by a tiny bit.

Despite its seemingly basic appearance, it's hard to ignore James Mangold's ability to make its simplistic approach look impressive.  Reuniting with cinematographer Phedon Papamichael, Mangold conveyed the outlook of Dylan's career with an old-fashioned yet highly invigorating presentation that expresses the artistry of its wide-angle shots and production design, especially the concert sequences.  It was clear that Mangold knew how to inject energy and charisma into the musical scenes, as he had previously directed another musical biopic, "Walk the Line".  They're nothing too fancy or imaginative, but they usually compensate with the toe-tapping delightfulness of the musical numbers, including the duets between Dylan and Joan Baez.  While his direction for the story's emotional beats hit a few sour notes compared to "Logan" and "Ford v Ferrari", James Mangold continued to prove himself as a confident filmmaker who injects life and radiance into his straightforward presentation.

As mentioned before, Timothée Chalamet is undoubtedly a gem in the acting industry in terms of his filmography.  His appearance in almost every film I've seen since "Call Me by Your Name" never failed to impress me with his talents.  Yes, that includes the Willy Wonka prequel, with his performance being his most light-hearted and charismatic role to date, in my opinion.  So I wasn't surprised that Chalamet has effortlessly continued this streak with "A Complete Unknown".  The film had Timothée Chalamet taking on the challenge of embodying the well-known musician, ranging from his dialect to his enigmatic and complex personality, and he successfully conquered that task easily.  He was the film's main highlight, as his magnetic and charming take on Dylan's mysterious yet complicated persona helped carry the story through its lengthy runtime.  Edward Norton also did a great job with his performance as Pete Seeger, the banjo-playing folk musician who assists Bob, and Elle Fanning continues to shine in her promising career regarding her role of Sylvie Russo.  Boyd Holbrook also made an appearance as Johnny Cash, the central topic of Mangold's "Walk the Line", and the character deserves credit for serving a role in Dylan's journey instead of being a pointless cameo.  Plus, Holbrook did a suitable job with his Johnny Cash impersonation.

Overall, "A Complete Unknown" makes itself known by hitting most of the right notes in its biopic narrative, creating a decent harmony worthy of its talents and straightforward presentation.  It's another musical biopic that lacks creativity and poignant sentimentality in its storytelling but compensates with its craftsmanship, passion, and ability to entertain.  Its hit-and-miss emotional depth and length kept the film from reaching the heights of others from the same genre.  Nonetheless, it's still a well-crafted and endearing depiction of artistic creativity bolstered by Timothée Chalamet's sublime performance, James Mangold's engrossing direction, and a decent yet formulaic screenplay.  If you're familiar with Bob Dylan's works and enjoyed some of James Mangold's previous works, this cinematic depiction of the musician's journey is certainly worth singing with.

B-