Review 737: A Complete Unknown

  

James Mangold's A Complete Unknown chronicles Bob Dylan's rise to fame   Mangold's film is a introspective look at art and fame featuring standout performance, spellbinding song performances and 

Based on the book Dylan Goes Electric! by Elijah Wald; Set in the influential New York music scene of the early 60's, 19-year-old Minnesota musician Bob Dylan (Timothee Chalamet) rise as a folk singer to concert halls and the top of the charts - his songs and mystique becoming a worldwide sensation - culminating in his groundbreaking electric rock and roll performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.

At its core, A Complete Unknown is a fable & fairy tale of what it is to be touched, both as a curse and a blessing in Bob Dylan's case. How it taints and changes his relationships with everyone he loves or hates or meets as we see clearly in his relationships with Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning) and Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro. It's also a story about being an artist and finding our way in the world. The music is, of course, a big part of the film but it's also about musicians relationship with fame 

The screenplay by James Mangold and Jay Cocks (known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese) feels bare bones - there isn't much of a story too it, mainly focusing on Dylan's rise to fame and his relationships. Focusing on the period of his life between 1961 - 65, that isn't really well known and allows Mangold to raise to pretty profound questions about the burden of being brilliant as well as the mysteries of it. There are some wonderful little vingettes of him performing, buying shirts and being mobed by girls. At the same time, it's layered without being overly complicated and yet simple enough to reach out and grab the audiences attention and make us care.                                                                                              The film cleverly and intelligently uses events in the 60s such as the Cuban Missile Crisis to highlight Dylan's music within the context of the era. It does ponder some pretty universal questions about genius and talent and how does someone have it and how it affects those around him.  A story about being an artist and finding our way in the world. 

James Mangold's direction is simply sublime The cinematography is beautiful, giving the film a rich and warm look  the costumes are colourfully and expertly reflect the rugged,  look of the early 60's. The production design is all marvelous, recreating the early to mid 60s in immaculate detail.   The film boasts a simply brilliant soundtrack featuring loads of Dylan's greatest hits from "Mr. Tambourine Man" to "Masters of War" but much like Mangold's other musical biopic Walk the Line from almost two decades ago, never strays into  because he knows when to stop and let the music do the talking. 

Timothée Chalamet is outstanding playing Bob Dylan expertly playing him as a  before he became the legendary singer we all know. He's able to nail all  without making it He sings and plays the guitar and hermonica so effortlessly he makes it seem natural. 

Monica Barbaro from TVs Chicago PD and Top Gun Maverick is fabulous playing Joan Baez. Dylan and Baez relationship is a tempestuous one, going through many ups and downs as they support each other throughout their careers and 

Elle Fanning is lovely playing Sylvie Russo, a character clearly based on Suze Rotolo, Dylan's real life girlfriend. There's good chemistry between Chalamet and Fanning, but there's excellent chemistry between Chalamet and Barbaro. 

Edward Norton is fantastic playing Pete Seeger. Seeger is depicted as a kind of mentor figure for Dylan,

Boyd Holbrook is a standout playing Johnny Cash. He only has a couple of scenes, but they're very memorable and of central importance and he brings the right amount of boyish swagger and charm required for the role.

Scoot McNairy is also a standout playing singer-songwriter, Woody Guthrie who Dylan idolised delivering a mesmirising performance that is largely a non-speaking part because he's suffering from Huntington's disease.