Film Review: A COMPLETE UNKNOWN (2024): Timothée Chalamet Ably Plays Bob Dylan as an Enigma in a Rousing Musical Biopic
A Complete Unknown Review
A Complete Unknown (2024) Film Review, a movie directed by James Mangold, written by Jay Cocks, Elijah Wald and James Mangold and starring Timothée Chalamet, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, Edward Norton, Scoot McNairy, Boyd Holbrook, P.J. Byrne, Dan Fogler, Norbert Leo Butz, Charlie Tahan, Joe Tippett, Michael Chernus, James Austin Johnson, David Alan Basche, Kayli Carter, David H. Holmes, Sarah Hawthorne and Will Fitz.
Director James Mangold’s drama, A Complete Unknown, turns its subject, Bob Dylan, into something of an enigma. Mangold’s film is crafted like a standard biopic but it has a lot of emotional depth thanks to the performances by its stellar cast with its four principal players delivering some of the best work of their careers thus far.
Timothée Chalamet is cast as Dylan, a rebellious musician who wrote and played guitar like a true master. It turned out that he could also sing pretty well too. When we meet Dylan, we immediately want to get to know him but the movie never really lets us in the way it could have. This film is like a prime example of the complexity of a great musical artist on full display. Chalamet is more than up to the task of allowing the viewer to respect the artist he plays whether we understand some of his life choices outside of his art or not.
Elle Fanning, as a girl named Sylvie Russo in the movie, is perfect as the simplistic, yet dedicated, woman who yearns to know Dylan better but catches him slipping away until she must figure out where they stand as romantic partners. Dylan can write a song for you and pass it off to someone else to sing in a heartbeat without looking back. Sylvie cherishes the little things in life while Dylan is on his own quest to become something (or someone) else.
Edward Norton all but steals the movie as Pete Seeger who takes Dylan under his wing with rather intriguing results. Norton can create a believable performance in almost any role he plays but, here, the performer plays his aging character so perfectly that this could be his ticket to another Academy Award nomination. Seeger is a flawed individual who is also a musical artist, yet the film chooses to sort of juxtapose the choices he makes in his life to the ones Dylan makes and rather fascinating scenes follow suit. This is Norton’s best work in years.
Monica Barbaro’s portrayal of Joan Baez could break your heart. She, too, expects Dylan to act differently than he does so when he comes over to her place and starts writing songs, she becomes a bit baffled by some of his behavior. When they sing together, Dylan eventually becomes difficult in a key moment in the movie which is among one of the picture’s most delicate and effective scenes as we get to see what really makes Dylan tick on a bad day.
The height of Dylan’s hair, the sunglasses he wears and the mannerisms of Dylan are all personified to perfection by Chalamet’s performance. For all intents and purposes, he becomes Dylan who was the quintessential New York taxi-cab riding musical artist. Dylan’s music permeates every scene whether the character is writing it, singing it or living it. When he rides a motorcycle with Sylvie, who later points out how comfortable the bed in their room is, it’s clear these two could be the definitive couple but Sylvie’s heart gets broken more times than one and Dylan can only show so much emotion under those sunglasses he wears so well. All his emotion is packed into his music, for better or worse.
So, towards the end, when Dylan helps redefine the guitar he plays, it feels like the groundbreaking moment that it actually was in history. Set from 1961 to 1965 in two essential halves, more or less, A Complete Unknown never feels like it takes shortcuts. It is commandeered by fine performances from some of the most talented actors and actresses working today. Let’s not forget Scoot McNairy who is absolutely unforgettable as Woody Guthrie who makes a stamp on Dylan’s life and then some. Dan Fogler shines as Dylan’s manager, Albert Grossman, who basically has a conniption whenever Dylan is out of his element whether it be him being late to an important meeting or blowing a concert with Joan Baez just to suit his ego. Albert gets pissed and the viewer completely understands why.
As the musical force of nature from the Midwest that Dylan was, Timothée Chalamet could be headed back to the Oscars with his work in the absorbing film, A Complete Unknown. Though his role is showy and the actor’s work is what movie stars are made of, let’s not forget the quality of the performances of Fanning, Norton or Barbaro. This is one of the finest ensembles of the year even if the underlying problem with the movie still exists. That issue is that Dylan is a force of nature who chewed into his career with aplomb and created some of the most groundbreaking music of all-time. We never truly get inside his head and see what’s there other than to note that he loves his work, feels regret for the people he hurts and less than sorry for the people who hurt him. Still, the outer image Chalamet projects on-screen is enough for us to understand him to a certain extent and just enough to really dig into the film and enjoy every musical interlude accordingly.
James Mangold has made a film that will help define the time period the movie is set in from a musical standpoint. Fanning brings so many elements to her character that the actress emerges with one of her most heartfelt turns to date while Norton is a master craftsman who never steers us wrong despite the questionable choices his character makes throughout the picture. A Complete Unknown is ultimately Chalamet’s show, though, and he’s playing, perhaps, the biggest “complete unknown” who ever existed. We know Dylan’s music like the back of our hands but his heart is a mystery that will be examined for years to come. His sorrows and passions may have certainly existed but they appear to get lost in the rhythm. Mangold has fashioned a very enjoyable film.
Rating: 8.5/10
Leave your thoughts on this A Complete Unknown review and the film below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons. Readers seeking more film reviews can visit our Movie Review Page, our Movie Review Twitter Page, and our Movie Review Facebook Page. Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Mobile App, Google News, Feedly, Twitter, Faceboo
Related Articles
