I admit, I’ve been waiting to watch “A Complete Unknown” for a long time; pretty much since the movie was announced. I was ready for a revelation, and that’s just what I got. Before I’d even left the theater, I knew I had to go back. And I’m glad I did, because it was even better the second time.
Some reviews, such as from The New York Times and Vulture, claim that “A Complete Unknown” doesn’t explore who Bob is, and instead leans into his enigmatic allure and mythical, almost formless genius. I’m not sure if that’s true. Sure, the movie doesn’t delve into Dylan’s backstory or claim to unlock the secrets of his brilliance, but it grounds Dylan as someone distinctly human. He is stubborn and bashful but also withdrawn. Someone the audience can be empathetic towards, despite all his selfish insolence (there are other descriptors that are more accurate but less tactful). A man who won’t be told who he is, despite everyone’s best attempts to try. A man who cannot be defined.
Each scene helped to paint Dylan’s portrait, but some were particularly poignant. Sophomore Ally Raftery pointed to moments in the film that struck a chord and elicited emotion.
“When Dylan sang the song he wrote for Woody Guthrie, when he asked Sylvie to stay through the fence by the ferry and she finally said no to him, the performance at the Newport Folk Festival,” Raftery listed. “I had to look up the details about the performance because it was so shocking that people would have had that response.”
The beauty of this character study — because that’s what I’d like to call it — is due in large part to Timothée Chalamet’s genius performance. He’s already a generational talent and the closest thing we have to a modern movie star, but Chalamet’s portrayal of Bob Dylan is a stunning display of his incredible craft. With five years to prepare for the role, Chalamet did everything imaginable to get into character, from visiting Bob’s hometown of Duluth, Minn., to learning to play the guitar. Chalamet’s imperfections are what solidify him as the perfect Bob Dylan. It’s about authenticity. No, he did not sound exactly like Bob, and sometimes the accent slipped a bit, but Bob himself is notoriously unpolished and unrefined. Chalamet recorded all of the musical performances live on set simply because he wanted the music to be real and raw. I genuinely don’t think anyone could have done a better job.
“You can’t re-create it in the studio,” Chalamet told Rolling Stone. “If I was singing to a prerecorded guitar, then all of a sudden I could hear the lack of an arm movement in my voice.”
Sophomore Martyn Dahl grew up in Duluth, just like Dylan.
“There’s a big culture around Bob Dylan in Duluth. My parents went to see him when I was growing up, but I didn’t think he was super big. I knew he was big enough to get a plaque, but I didn’t know how big he was. And then they were making a movie with a big star,” Dahl said. “I was skeptical going in because I didn’t think that Timothée Chalamet could play a rustic American boy from a small town in Minnesota. I came out impressed by how much he looked and sounded like Bob Dylan.”
But Chalamet wasn’t the only one who gave the performance of his career. What makes “A Complete Unknown” so special is the consistently stellar performances from the entire cast. Edward Norton as Pete Seeger, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash (who stole the show in all his scenes), Elle Fanning as the fictionalized Sylvie Russo and even Dylan’s bandmates who joined only in the third act. Each actor nailed the suave ’60s aplomb that made the movie what it was.
My advice: watch the movie. Then watch it again. Truthfully, you might hate it (especially if you’re a feminist), and that’s totally okay. But there’s an undeniable artistry and sheer talent shining through each and every scene that has an irresistible draw and unforgettable resonance. Even though it’s an age-old story of the individualist, the contrarian, the man who listens only to the beat of his own drum, you’d be remiss not to peer into Dylan’s soul and rediscover the music that defined a generation.
