In his mesmerizing new film “A Complete Unknown”, acclaimed director James Mangold takes on the daunting challenge of capturing lightning in a bottle – the mercurial spirit of a young Bob Dylan on the brink of redefining rock music. It’s an electrifying portrait of the artist as an inscrutable young man, powered by a transformative lead performance from Timothée Chalamet.
From the moment he appears on screen with a mop of unruly hair, Chalamet fully inhabits Dylan’s angular physicality and trademark raspy drawl. The 27-year-old Oscar nominee disappears into the role, channeling Dylan’s folk hero swagger and live-wire stage presence with uncanny precision. When he strums a guitar or wails on a harmonica, you’d swear you were watching the real deal in his heyday.
Mythmaking and Mystery
Set primarily in the early-to-mid 1960s as Dylan is rising to fame in the Greenwich Village folk scene, “A Complete Unknown” is less interested in strict autobiography than in exploring the Dylan mystique. Told in an elliptical, impressionistic style, the film eschews straightforward narrative in favor of enigmatic vignettes and telling moments that reveal Dylan’s elusive, quicksilver nature.
As Chalamet’s Dylan shape-shifts from Woody Guthrie acolyte to rebel rock poet, the film itself takes on a fractured, collage-like structure. Mangold intersperses dynamic concert recreations with dreamy interludes of Dylan crafting soon-to-be-iconic songs in a swirl of cigarette smoke. Gorgeous cinematography by Phedon Papamichael captures the bygone romance of a bohemian New York in bursts of burnished light.
Kindred Spirits and Masked Emotions
Some of the film’s most engaging scenes explore Dylan’s relationships with fellow artists who, the film posits, shaped his identity. As the famed folk singer Joan Baez, a radiant Monica Barbaro strikes poignant chords as both Dylan’s musical partner and spurned lover. “It Ain’t Me Babe” becomes their bittersweet duet, an ode to roads not taken.
Meanwhile, Dylan’s girlfriend Suze Rotolo (a luminous Elle Fanning) serves as the film’s emotional anchor, an observer who sees the man behind the growing myth. Fanning and Chalamet’s tender, tentative scenes together add welcome notes of vulnerability to a figure often shrouded in enigma.
“While there’s no knowing who the ‘real’ Bob Dylan is, Chalamet’s bravura performance and Mangold’s artful direction make for a fascinating impressionistic portrait.”
From Folk Hero to Electric Warrior
The film’s electrifying centerpiece is a bravura sequence recreating Dylan’s controversial 1965 Newport Folk Festival appearance, when he stunned the acoustic-strumming traditionalists by plugging in and rocking out. As Chalamet’s Dylan blasts the crowd with “Maggie’s Farm” and “Like a Rolling Stone”, Mangold’s camera swoops with giddy abandon, capturing an iconic moment that marked a seismic cultural shift.
It’s in moments like these that “A Complete Unknown” most vividly captures the sheer magnitude of Dylan’s impact. When Chalamet rips into “The Times They Are a-Changin'”, the rallying cry ripples through the audience like a lightning bolt, and you feel in your bones how Dylan gave voice to a generation’s hunger for change.
A Tantalizing Glimpse Behind the Shades
For all its virtuosic filmmaking and brilliant lead performance, “A Complete Unknown” remains a somewhat elusive experience, much like its subject himself. The film is more interested in burnishing the Dylan legend than penetrating his psyche. We get tantalizing glimpses behind the trademark sunglasses, but never a full unmasking.
Perhaps that’s fitting for an artist who has spent a lifetime confounding expectations and eluding easy explanations. While there’s no knowing who the “real” Bob Dylan is, Chalamet’s bravura performance and Mangold’s artful direction make for a fascinating impressionistic portrait. “A Complete Unknown” may not be the definitive Dylan biopic, but it’s an essential, invigorating document of an artist inventing himself in real time.
The Verdict
With a kinetic lead performance from Timothée Chalamet and evocative direction from James Mangold, “A Complete Unknown” offers an electrifying glimpse into Bob Dylan’s pivotal early years. While the film keeps its subject at an arm’s length, it succeeds brilliantly in capturing Dylan’s seismic impact and indelible mystique. It’s a must-see for music lovers and cinephiles alike.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
