In his film “A Complete Unknown”, James Mangold compromises what it means to portray a life, in this case Bob Dylan’s life, while still depicting montage principles in relation to art. This is certainly a first out of many for Mangold’s filmography, as Dylan is probably one of the more famous individuals to be featured in a biopic, depicting some of the most tumultuous times of his life in relation to music. I imagine countless composers would describe it as a Disneyland wait for all their dreams to become true as they watch the on-screen maestro perform ”The Times They Are A-Changin’”, however, something felt melancholic about watching ”A Complete Unknown” as what was anticipated seemed too tuned featuring not as many off notes that without a doubt Dylan would have wished for. If we focus on Bob Dylan’s character alone… well, there is simply no parallel.
The first appearance viewers get of Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown” is a young Timothé Chalamet debuting on back and rotating off Woody Guthrie’s archival recording who happens to be one of the most significant inspirations of Dylan. The term ‘struck him down to the ground’ lucidly explains the level the great artist was to reach. Moving on, an aged Guthrie (Scoot McNairy), who happened to be in a Jersey hospital, was sought out by the young Dylan on the fateful day in 1961 when he introduces Pete Seeger to the legendary singer. Walter convinces Dylan to perform for his hero and momentous sparks electric creativity. There are a number of occasions and scenes in A Complete Unknown when J.J. Mangold does not lose an opportunity to emphasize the evolution of rich genius and unmatched compositional prowess of Bob Dylan. Almost every Bob Dylan flick has incorporated the real element of performance to further his storytelling, and this is among his greatest strengths; it has more full songs than the majority of Hollywood musicals and simply refuses to take the medley route of relentless little clips, frequently allowing the music to speak for itself.
Dylan’s Songs, Perhaps, Were That Significant Back Then In The Early 1960s. A few of the scenes do an adequate job of placing Dylan in history in order to demonstrate his significance. For instance, while the Cuban Missiles Crisis is on the news, Dylan performs “Masters of War” in a bar. I mean, try to imagine that, listening to the unrepentant This Is the End lyrics, with all the people of New York hoping to find even a bus stop which serves as a refuge from Manhattan. It explains the reason for the success of Mangold’s film, however, how it conspired to cocoon Dylan’s songs in the narrative as part of the story rather than background music. It is true that the use of news footage to signal the change of time can be an overkill, but then again, it highlights the fact that even a radical artist like Dylan was not immune to the influences of the world he lived in, both at the global level and local level.
As for the later, the Dylan who would become so famous that he’s almost your teenage heartthrob in the chapter of his career exhibited in this movie can be said to have been influenced by more than Guthrie alone. Seeger, who after that meeting takes Dylan back home, is first seen in a courtroom defending his right to express himself and turns out to be quite interestingly situated between the boundaries of folk music and the revolutionary who might be taking it towards some undiscovered horizons. The folk singer’s life was almost idyllic till he also meets two women who would influence his career as a performer. Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning) is a variation of Suze Rotolo, the lady on the cover of bob Dylan free wheeling, here as a spouse who understand nothing about her husband even he becomes the most adored person globally. It is the case both the women, who are in love with Dylan, are infuriated as well as charmed by him including Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro) who simply rips into the conventional singer and thus goes on to become a star singing a better class of folk than what Dylan is prepared to release.
Isn’t it a little excessive claiming title of ‘poet’ for oneself and to a extend of a ‘generation’, some may argue. But what could be losing out of? a sense of fulfilment may be! Mangold and Jay Cocks, however, let their audience ponder the deeper questions about the complexity behind Dylan’s character. For example, why did he despise his large fan base and ignore them? Many followed his journey, not all gave the same amount of attention, was he infuriated by the lack of interest? What about Johnny Cash’s influence, will he say he was the reason? It’s a beautiful puzzle, why Dylan pushed of a world filled with answers but it was subtle mind-boggling emotions.
That said, Mangold’s approach requires a lot from Mr. Chalamet, and he delivers. While the first time isn’t particularly memorable, from an aesthetic viewpoint, his performance is. Everything from Chalamet’s portrayal to his raspy blue eyes, just makes you feel like you are staring into the universe. “The Times They Are A – Changin” premiered in front of him as he gleamed with a glimmering smile, eyes filled with rage, ready for the havoc he was about to create in the music industry as an artist. And as his eyes expanded to the wild crowd he saw, in that scene Dillon had audiences attention and in that one moment Dillon held the future inside of his hands.
It delivers a jolt to the film that is typical of biographical films, leaving one hyper rather than the feeling that the film is just a record that has been repeated one too many a time.
Chalamet is well complemented by a strong cast. Norton and Fanning have been getting some early attention both have earned critics awards of some sort but the real stars for me are the enchanting Monica Barbaro who plays Baez and the very versatile Boyd Holbrook who plays Cash. Barbaro perfectly understands the duality of feelings people felt towards Dylan and Holbrook interprets Cash as easygoing man who discovered the talent inside Dylan that the world painted over. They are Bob’s angels and devils.
A recording of his classic song So Long, Its Been Good To Know Yuh is what starts and ends the movie “A Complete Unknown.” Not only does it link Dylan to a folk music lineage which he would forever alter, but it’s also got the same dark sense of humor and topicality that would often characterize Guthrie’s music. After that, there is talk about “the end of the world” and, then the group would “sing a song and sing it again.” It is a line that recalls Dylan singing protest songs such as Masters of War and sitting poised at the climax of an apocalypse. And to freewheel in the last one would be to channel the heavy and easy charms about him and the film that surrounds him: This dusty old dust is a getting’ my home and I got to be drifting along. Dylan eventually drifts in 1961 into New York and changes music. And we’re just drifting along with him still. We steadfastly are with the truth hours through.
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