I should probably start by saying that I've never been a Bob Dylan fan. Dude can't sing. Are we all being punked? What am I missing?
James Mangold, Jay Cocks & Timothee Chalamet have changed my mind with their excellent collaboration A COMPLETE UNKNOWN.
Once again, I find myself repeating the same question. Is there anything that Chalamet CAN'T do?
Opening in 1961, an unknown Bob Dylan (Chalamet) arrives in a dirty New York City, tracking down famous singer Pete Seeger (Edward Norton in his most gentile role, ever) and the folk music crowd. He wants to meet his songwriting hero Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy) and eventually meets both Seeger and Guthrie at the latter's bedside, where he's battling serious illness.
Dylan pulls out his guitar and sings "Song to Woody" to Guthrie, gaining immediate credibility with them both.
Dylan crashes on Seeger's couch and his arrival on the NYC folk music scene follows, in perfect period detail. I have always been a fan of Mangold's work as Writer/Director. His Johnny Cash bio "Walk the Line" was fantastic and his work with Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon in that film was astonishing. Just as those two actors did, Chalamet sings all the Dylan tunes here, and sings them live. That's incredible in itself, but the fact that he does so while delivering a flawless impersonation of Dylan's speaking and singing voice makes it all the more incredible.
He's not alone. Monica Barbaro (Top Gun: Maverick) is superb as Joan Baez. She captures Baez signing voice perfectly, while also conveying Baez's wonder at Dylan's writing talent and stage presence. As Dylan and Baez fall in and out of a physical relationship, it often feels more like mutual appreciation than love. Their duet of "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" is perfection. Their later festival performance of "It Ain't Me Babe" is a pivotal turning point in their lives, perfectly staged by Mangold to capture everything happening to the supporting characters in that moment.
As the years pass and the civil rights issues of the mid sixties take center stage, Dylan's lyrics become the touch point of a generation. I've never heard some of these songs like "Masters of War", and while I've heard "The Times They Are A-Changin'" many times, I feel like I never experienced it in the context of the cultural revolution that it helped spark.
"Blowin' in the Wind" is another landmark. Watching Chalamet sing it in a perfect recreation of the time brings enormous power to its debut.
Boyd Holbrook (Logan) is strong as Johnny Cash, an established star as Dylan's begins to rise. His encouragement of the most rebellious sides of Dylan is hilarious and powerful.
Mangold juggles multiple storylines alongside Dylan's career.
His longtime relationship with Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning) is a strong through line, as is watching how Dylan's music changes from guitar and harmonica to a rock and roll style that threatens the Folk Music Festival of Alan Lomax (the reliably great Norbert Leo Butz).
Broadway vet Dan Fogler nails it as Dylan's long time manager Albert Grossman.
But at the center of the film is Chalamet's riveting, amazing performance as Bob Dylan. Dylan read the script for the film and approved every word and has praised Chalamet's performance. It's a bold portrayal and as far from a Hollywood polish as you can get. Dylan comes off as incredibly talented, but he's also selfish, rude, emotionally closed off and unsympathetic. A bit of a genius and a cypher.
But those lyrics. Wow.
The screenplay by Jay Cocks (The Gangs of New York) and Mangold is a William Goldman-like masterclass in balancing humor, drama and history.
I predict Oscar nominations for the screenplay, Mangold's direction and Chalamet as a front runner for Best Actor.
Since seeing the film, I've been listening constantly to the soundtrack as well as going back to listen to Dylan's original albums.
That's a testament to the film that I've become that curious and appreciative of an artist that I had previously dismissed with a tossed aside "I'm not a Dylan fan."
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN is a perfectly crafted tribute to a life that changed modern music and the social mainstream long before the decades of social media.
The songs tell the tale and what a tale it is, earning an A.
How does it feel?
How does it feel?
To be on your own
A complete unknown
Like a rolling stone.
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