Matteo reviews A Complete Unknown
Known for his incredible storytelling and often polarizing vocals, Bob Dylan is one of the most decorated musicians in history. He has won 10 Grammys, an Oscar, and even a Nobel prize in literature. Due to the constant slew of biopics that have been released in recent years, a Bob Dylan biopic was bound to happen. Finally, it is here with A Complete Unknown, a film that offers some incredible performances and songs, but is unfortunately…rather surface level.
Set in the early years of Dylan’s illustrious career, the film follows Bob Dylan from his first encounter with Pete Seeger, who was an early promoter of Dylan (late 50s/early 60s) to the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, where Bob Dylan notably “went electric” and unveiled one of his biggest hits to date, “Like a Rolling Stone,” the song from which the movie derives its title.
Timothee Chalamet, one of my personal favorite modern actors, fully embodies Bob Dylan. From the guitar playing, to the social awkwardness, to the constant smoking, everything about his performance is truly believable. He even sounds like Dylan during the numerous concert scenes. He thoroughly elevates this movie and received a well-deserved Oscar nomination for his performance.
The supporting cast is also great. Edward Norton, notable from movies such as Fight Club and Birdman, is also great as Peter Seeger, although I do wish he had some more screen time. His performance also has earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. A third standout performance is Monica Barbaro as the popular folk singer Joan Baez, with whom Bob Dylan was once romantically involved. She, too, has many great vocal performances throughout the movie, with the standout being her duet with Chalamet on “It Ain’t Me, Babe.” It is a recreation of the live performance the two put on at the 1964 Newport festival. Although the cast is great, the rest of the film, in my opinion, is not as strong as it could be.
This biopic, like many that have been released, is unfortunately too surface level. I came into the movie knowing nearly nothing about Bob Dylan other than that he was known as one of the best songwriters alive. I came out learning a lot about his love life, but, unfortunately, not enough about Dylan himself. The audience learns that he idolized Woody Guthrie, but we do not know why. Why did he like Guthrie? What influence did he have on Dylan’s music? We will never know. Why did Bob Dylan leave home? If you are hoping to find the answer to this question in the movie, you will be woefully disappointed. The film is not short, coming in at about 2 hours and 15 minutes, but it fails to spend its runtime as effectively as it could have.
A Complete Unknown is a good enough biopic that could have been better. The film has a lot to offer in terms of stellar musical performances and a good romantic storyline, but the film does very little to set it apart from all of the other biopics that are on the market. The acting makes the film worth a one time watch, but I doubt I will ever find myself watching this movie again.
