Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan: An Honest Review of ‘A Complete Unknown’
This biopic tells the widely unknown tale of who Bob Dylan was and how he rose into the spotlight to become one of today’s icons. With Timothée stating in an interview (on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert) that Dylan has ‘remained a mystery somehow decades later’. This was certainly true for me. While I’m familiar with Bob Dylan’s music, I realised after watching this film how little I actually knew about his life, this seems wholly intentional on Dylan’s part. It begs the question, why should someone who gifted the world a masterful collection of albums and songs have to be known to us on any level deeper than just a songwriter? That said, curiosity got the better of me and I did choose to watch the film and learn about Dylan’s journey into fame. However, I must admit that part of my motivation was the fact that I have seen most, if not all, of Chalamet’s work and so I figured why stop now?
Chalamet as Dylan. Credits to Broadway Cinema
The film starts with a 19-year-old Dylan travelling alone to find his inspiration Woody Guthrie, an American Singer-songwriter who, to this day, is one of the most significant figures in folk. In a touching scene he plays Woody Guthrie & Pete Seeger his ‘Song for Woody’. From the very start I was holding back tears, for me I don’t think this was necessarily the film’s aim. Dylan’s songs alone are so heavily loaded with emotions for anti-war and civil rights purposes; combining that with Timothée’s stripped back, live singing meant that the film did cause me to cry on numerous occasions.
Whilst the plotline wasn’t overly complicated, and I’d have to say the cinematography really wasn’t anything new. The aim of the film felt very separate from those two things. A biopic is a character study, where no matter how glamorous or riveting the plot/directing style may be, you become enthralled in a human story. At times it was predictable, even without having known to much about Dylan, however for me that could possibly be a credit for ‘A Complete Unknown’. We know this man rose to fame, we know from his music that his relationships were ‘rocky’ to say the least, but all in all it tells the story of a man and his love for music! That is exactly what I took away from this film, an inspired love of folk and Dylan’s ability to progress it further by turning it into something more, something worthy of admiration, something timeless.
Photo Credits: Odyssey Magazine
For me the highlight was Chalamet’s performance of ‘Blowin’ in the wind’, specifically the first time Bob Dylan revealed it to Joan Baez. This felt like the most raw, authentic performance of the film and Bob Dylan’s lyricism here makes it very clear why he received a Nobel Prize for literature. Special contenders were definitely, ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’, ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’, ‘It Ain’t Me, Babe’ & of course, the finale song ‘Like A Rolling Stone’. Dylan’s effortless song-writing ability is given the credit and justice it deserves by this film and Chalamet’s stellar performance. Bob’s writing proves that some people really deserve their acclaim, and that to have a voice that can evoke every single emotion possible in a crowd of people is a spectacularly rare talent!
So far it seems to me this film has received mixed reviews, but I have seen very few critics fault Chalamet’s performance and rightly so! With Wendy Ide from the Guardian stating ‘Timothée Chalamet radiates charisma in evocative Dylan biopic’.
Photo Credits: Next Best Picture
Five years in the making, Timothée delivers a performance that perfectly captures Dylan’s signature aloofness. However, the effort he invested in this role was clearly anything but ‘aloof’. It is a compelling portrayal, and if anyone had doubts about Chalamet’s talent before, this film leaves no room for anything but admiration, not just for his skill but for his commitment to a role. Whilst Timothée steals the show with his performances, it is worth noting that Edward Norton, Monica Barbaro, Elle Fanning & Boyd Holbrook brought such passion and really transported me to the 60s.
If I was to take one thing away from James Mangold’s film, it would be the quote ‘you can be beautiful or you can be ugly, but you can’t be plain’. It was at its simplest an inspiring film that has reignited my love for the biopic & documentary style genre, even after let’s face it, years of oversaturation in this space. The film and Bob Dylan himself are epitomised by Chalamet’s words in an interview with Stephen Colbert stating it is impressive ‘if you’re sensitive enough to be great and then you’re smart enough to protect it’.
