By: Shirley Ann Wilson-Moore, Ph.D
Director/co-screenwriter
James Mangold's "
A Complete Unknown" is a dynamic biopic of legendary singer-songwriter
Bob Dylan.
The movie is based on author
Elijah Wald's 2015 book,
"Dylan Goes Electric!"
"A Complete Unknown" is brought to life by an eclectic and multi-talented cast who deliver nuanced performances that spotlight the social, cultural, and political upheaval that was transforming American society during the 1960s and early 1970s.
Dylan's changing approach to making music had an impact on popular culture that resonated in areas far beyond the Greenwich Village "folk music" scene—a scene he entered as a 19-year-old in 1961. Setting his poetic "stream-of-consciousness" lyrics into an amplified, electrified beat indelibly altered the sound and language of popular music as well as his life.
Timothee Chalamet ("Dune: Part 2" and "Wonka") tackles the demanding lead role as Bob Dylan. His performance is an award-worthy tour de force. He channels Dylan's persona—from the singer’s speech and mannerisms to his singing, guitar, and harmonica playing.
In the film's opening scene, 19-year-old Dylan arrives in New York City, the nation's folk music capital at the time, where he is greeted by a raging snowstorm. Chalamet, using only a few words of dialogue, draws on a repertoire of facial expressions and gestures to convey Dylan's fascination and delight with the sights and sounds that beckon him as he stands in the bitter cold.
Later, Dylan sets out to a New Jersey nursing home, determined to meet Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy, "Speak No Evil" and "Nightbitch"), and sing him a song he wrote ("Song to Woody") for his now ill folk music hero.
Chalamet's portrayal of Dylan as an awestruck, self-effacing kid trying his best not to let his ambition show through is spot on. Edward Norton ("Glass Onion") offers an impressively understated interpretation of Pete Seeger whom he plays as a generous, compassionate man with an eye and ear for talent. Norton's performance gives us a look at the budding friendship that Seeger and Dylan would forge over the years and provides some insight into the painful toll their breakup exacted when Dylan debuted his new electrified sound at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.
To the dismay of the "folk purists," including Seeger, Dylan's performance at Newport changed everything. His "Like a Rolling Stone," with its crashing opening chords and amplified guitars, put everyone on notice that the times indeed were a-changing and proclaimed in no uncertain terms that Dylan would no longer be working on "Maggie’s Farm."
This iconic anthem, with its poignant refrain that asks, "How does it feel to be on your own, with no direction home, like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone?" became one of two musical bookmarks of a turbulent era. (The other one is "Aretha Franklin's "R-E-S-P-E-C-T"—written by Otis Redding). It motivated a generation of young people (some younger than Dylan was when he first burst onto the scene) to search for answers to those questions and seize their own independence just as he was trying to do with his music. Dylan reinvented himself, attempting to break free of the musical and social conventions that blocked him from being "just like I am" ("Maggie's Farm").
Chalamet skillfully incorporates Dylan's elaborate ploys into his portrayal of the singer. He uses those disguises—from Dylan's "hip" speech patterns to his signature dark glasses and flamboyant clothing, down to his often unfathomable and contradictory responses to questions about his early life and family.
Chalamet is so adept at presenting this version of Dylan that it sometimes becomes difficult to distinguish the actor from the character he plays.
The supporting cast members are also remarkable. Infusing their roles with individuality, quirkiness, and spirit, they each deliver complex, memorable performances. Elle Fanning (TV's "The Great") plays Sylvie Russo, one of Dylan's love interests. Fanning depicts Sylvie as a fiercely independent woman, undaunted by Dylan's growing fame. She became his teacher as well, encouraging him to support the burgeoning black civil rights movement and introducing him to a world of art and literature he had never known. Monica Barbaro ("Top Gun: Maverick") plays Joan Baez, another of Dylan's love interests, who guides him through the intricacies of the folk music world. She delivers a sensitive picture of Baez as an eyes-wide-open pragmatist with no illusions about the tentative nature of her relationship with Dylan or her shaky position in the folk music hierarchy where she currently reigned at that time.
Boyd Holbrook ("The Bikeriders") stars as Johnny Cash, a larger-than-life, straight-talking, flawed musical legend. He and Dylan had long been mutual fans when Dylan, worried about the course of his life and music, turned to his hero for help. A drunk Cash gives him the pithy advice to do what he wants to do with his music and make sure to leave "muddy footprints" on the carpet.
The only thing that mars this otherwise outstanding film is the scant attention it gives to
Tom Wilson (Eric Berryman, TV's "Godfather of Harlem"), developer and popularizer of the folk-rock genre. This is a puzzling oversight, particularly since Dylan's transition to folk-rock is the film's primary focus.
Tom Wilson was an African American graduate of Harvard (class of 1954) and a jazz aficionado. He launched several small jazz record labels and produced recordings for some of the most notable jazz artists in the world including Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra, Donald Byrd, and Eddie Harris.
By the late 1950s Wilson was working his way up the corporate ladder at Columbia Records where he had been assigned to work with Bob Dylan in the mid-1960s. Wilson produced some of Dylan's most significant recordings in the folk-rock genre including the albums
Another Side of Bob Dylan, Bringing it All Back Home, and Highway 61 Revisited. Wilson also produced
"Like a Rolling Stone." The film shows a few glimpses of Berryman as Wilson in the recording studio with Dylan and other musicians. Unfortunately, the lack of attention to Wilson and his creative contributions to Dylan's music is an enormous oversight in an otherwise insightful film.
That said, "A Complete Unknown" is an exceptional work. Transcending the usual biopic cliches, it presents a thoughtful and thought-provoking picture of one of the world's most creative and enduring cultural icons.
Dylan's influence on popular music and culture spans several decades. It ranges from Motown ("Reach Out I'll be There," "Standing in the Shadows of Love," and "Bernadette" by The Four Tops), to the Black Panther Party (Huey Newton was an admirer of Dylan’s music), the hip-hop community, (Kanye West and Jay-Z have even sampled Dylan's music).
In addition,
The Nobel Prize Committee awarded Dylan its highest honor in Literature in 2016.
"A Complete Unknown" is a beautifully filmed work. Kudos to cinematographer
Phedon Papamichael. It also features an exquisite soundtrack of Dylan's music. This remarkable film is definitely worth seeing.
Editor's Note: Shirley Ann Wilson Moore is a Professor Emerita at
California State University Sacramento, where she specialized in U.S. history. She received her Ph.D from the
University of California, Berkeley in 1989. Moore is the author of
"Sweet Freedom's Plains: African Americans on the Overland Trails, 1841-1869" and co-editor, with
Quintard Taylor, of "African American Women Confront the West 1600-2000" and
"To Place Our Deeds: The African American Community in Richmond, California, 1910-1963."
Dr. Moore is also a lover of a variety of music and a huge Bob Dylan fan. She is also my sister, and this is her first contributing movie review to
N2Entertainment.net, but surely not her last.
Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays at 5:17 p.m. and 6:47 p.m. on radio station KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM. However, I will be off for the Christmas holiday and returning on air January 10, 2025. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Watch This Trailer For
"A COMPLETE UNKNOWN"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), The American Film Institute (AFI), and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
