“Oh, The Times They Are a-Changin’.”
For over six decades, Bob Dylan has established a reputation for being one of music’s most unique and innovative artists. He’s many things to many people.
Lauded as a pioneer for his socially conscious lyrics, his work brought him a fan base of like-minded individuals who could identify with the turbulent atmosphere of the early to mid-1960s. Dylan was their warrior poet. Others were put off by Dylan’s maverick attitude in an industry more interested in making money than in artistic integrity. Both sides are at the forefront of A Complete Unknown, the new biopic about Dylan’s life and career from 1961 to 1965.
Timothée Chalamet stars as Dylan, who begins his musical journey while visiting his idol, Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy), in a New York hospital. He writes “Song to Woody” and sings it to him personally while in the presence of Pete Seeger (Edward Norton).
Seeger is immediately impressed by Dylan’s musical style, and he gets the opportunity to perform at a club where some record executives will be. It’s here that he meets Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro). The two of them bond over music, which then spills over into a relationship.
Elle Fanning costars as Sylvie Russo, who begins a relationship with Dylan as well, but this one is shadowed by Dylan’s detached demeanor and his refusal to talk about his background.
Dylan is constantly frustrated with the producers he works with on his music. He wants to generate his own material while they insist on him covering previously recorded songs. He has an encounter with Johnny Cash (Boyd Holbrook) who urges him to stay true to himself.
Like most standard biopics, A Complete Unknown is a catalog of how Dylan’s music came to be. We get several scenes of Dylan experimenting with his songs in the studio and in front of audiences who quickly become enamored. Everything from “Mr. Tambourine Man” to “Blowin’ In the Wind” and of course, “Like a Rolling Stone” with Chalamet at its center.
Like he did with Walk the Line, writer/director James Mangold is very much interested in giving us a formulaic point of view in terms of the personal and professional aspects of its subject. While this is handled with skill, there are moments where I wished the film would’ve done a little more to focus on Dylan as a human being instead of a musical persona. Instead, we get the bare minimum.
However, where that falters, the performances give an electric energy. Chalamet is a young actor who consistently delivers strong work, and I think he might have reached career-best heights with this one. He does echo Dylan’s singing style, and the look is spot-on, which is really most of the work that’s really required in a biopic.
His performance is matter-of-fact, and Chalamet brings a presence that is thoroughly engaging in every frame he’s in. He’s also tremendously talented, as he did his own singing and learned to play the guitar and harmonica. The results are one of the most captivating I’ve seen of an actor throwing themselves into a role. I’d say he can go ahead and start writing his acceptance speech for the Oscars.
A movie like A Complete Unknown can survive only based on the talents involved. Thankfully, it’s in capable, competent hands.
Grade: A-
(Rated R for language.)
