A Complete Unknown

Director James Mangold’s biopic featuring Bob Dylan is hardly the first. How much of a fan of the singer you are will likely affect your level of enjoyment here. Even so, star Timothée Chalamet’s Golden Globe nomination is well-deserved here in his portrayal of Dylan, performing forty songs. Mangold takes us on a journey through the early 1960s New York City music scene, we see him rise from a 19-year-old unknown (as the title suggests) as a folk singer to become the highly influential sensation people remember today. The opening scene has him traveling to find his hero, Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy), who is suffering from Huntington’s Disease and confined to a hospital bed. There he meets Pete Seeger (Edward Norton), who is also visiting Guthrie, and is impressed by the young man’s heartfelt song that he offers Dylan a place to stay.

Seeger allows Bob to play at an open mic night, and he catches the attention of professionals–most notably Albert Grossman (Dan Fogler), who soon becomes his manager. The spotlight shifts from his career to his love life, which primarily shows his relationship with his on-again-off again girlfriend Joan Baez. While no one can portray Joan except, well, the real person, Monica Barbaro is another highlight of the film, and she tours with Dylan despite increasing frustrations about their personal life. While his rise to folk icon results in throngs of women swarming his taxis after a show, the primary two women in his life are Joan and Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning), which naturally puts a strain on this aspect of his life. You might even say that his real mistress is his obsession to not create covers, but original music. Speaking of which, Johnny Cash is supportive of his musical choices over the course of his career, despite pressure to keep playing folk.

The final act–which includes a rather jarring time jump to 1965–builds to the Newport Folk Festival as the film’s climax. Undoubtedly, Mangold is still a terrific director who knows how to make a movie. The cast is excellent, with Chalamet giving a such a fantastic performance that some might overlook Barbaro and Norton (who definitely deserves recognition for his supporting role). The recreation of 1960s New York is incredible. I have already addressed how superb the songs all are here, particularly from Chalamet. It struck me as strange that Mangold cast three-time collaborator Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash, rather than bringing back Joaquin Phoenix to reprise the role from Walk the Line, although it’s a small part here. But I’m fine with him choosing a different actor.

This biopic should please both longtime Dylan fans and those who are unfamiliar with the singer. I can see it being a real crowd-pleaser. But as I left the theater, I was thinking about my overall experience and could not shake the feeling that this is a case of style over substance. It is a Greatest Hits album, if you will: over the span of two-and-a-half hours, we see the highs and lows of his career as well as his relationships. However, I never felt like I got to really know Bob Dylan, despite a career-high performance. Walk the Line focuses on the life of its central legend, but Mangold does not show that here. Maybe the title says it all: he is supposed to be portrayed as a mystery. Yet even if that was intentional, this critical darling still falls short on that front.

Rated R

2 hours, 21 minutes