A Complete Unknown

Timothée Chalamet shines in a terrifically entertaining mix of music and mythology, a character-driven look at the early years of Bob Dylan's career and the people who helped it along.

Speaking as someone who’s fairly tepid about both Bob Dylan and Timothée Chalamet compared to the level they’re regarded in pop culture, I was pretty well blown away by “A Complete Unknown.” This biopic chronicling Dylan’s early years, from fresh-faced folk singer to breaking out as a rock icon, is a terrifically entertaining mix of music and mythology.

Chalamet, whose pretty-boy looks and (imho) skin-deep performances in films like the “Dune” duology have not warmed the cockles of this critic’s cold heart, turns in a charismatic and deep-rooted performance. He portrays Dylan as a man utterly consumed by the need to create music, to the point of treating others quite shabbily if they interfere with that path.

In particular, his romances with girlfriend Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning) and fellow folk legend Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro) demonstrate what a cold, callow fellow Dylan could be, despite incredibly sensitive and piercing lyrics. Both are instrumental in furthering his musical ascent, but eventually he treats them like accessories.

Director James Mangold (“Logan,” “Ford v Ferrari”) co-wrote the screenplay with Jay Cocks based on the book “Dylan Goes Electric!” by Elijah Wald. It covers the first few years of Dylan’s career, skyrocketing from unknown acoustic guitar troubadour to the (in)famous day at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 when he marked a sharp break from his folk music roots by playing with electrical instruments.

Speaking of ahistorical BS…

This moment has been pumped up over the years to some sort of titanic cultural event, the before and after in Dylan’s development of an artist. The best truth we can discern is most of the folk lovers dug Dylan’s new sound, and the only major complaints were about the quality of the sound system rather than somebody desecrating the holy acoustic shrine. Heck, a couple of other bands played electric before Dylan that same night.

People are often shocked when I say I’m not that big on Dylan’s music. Some figures become such huge pop stars that it’s apostasy to admit you’re not a fan. (For the record, I think Prince, David Bowie and The Beatles are overrated, too.) I will say that I like Dylan’s early stuff a lot more than the later, when he devolved into an indescribable, muttering self-caricature. So a movie that stresses his breakout material is going to get more appreciation from me.

Chalamet does his own singing, and it’s a good vocal depiction that doesn’t try too hard to be an exact copy of Dylan’s voice. It’s an impersonation rather than mimicking. The actor puts his own spin on the singer’s distinctive sound, much in the way Jamie Foxx did with Ray Charles.

Surprisingly, “A Complete Unknown” also shines plenty of light on other musical stars and people in Dylan’s life, to the point you could almost argue this is an ensemble piece. Barbaro and Fanning are the two of the most pivotal figures in the mix, but cutting equal weight is Edward Norton as Pete Seeger. Scoot McNairy has a wordless but powerful turn as Woody Guthrie, laid low by Huntington’s Disease, who serves as Dylan’s first inspiration.

The kid’s real introduction in the movie comes when he drops in unannounced at the hospital where Guthrie is interred, with Seeger present for one of his regular visits. Dylan pulls out his guitar and strums a tune about why he came to see Guthrie, and the two older men smile at each other in wonderment, knowing instantly an unheralded talent has just dropped into their world.

The relationship between Seeger and Dylan is tracked through the movie with as much attention and care as those with the ladies, and is in some ways more interesting and important. Seeger seems himself as Dylan’s mentor and father figure, and that sentiment is certainly returned initially, but their inevitable schism looms like a dark cloud on the horizon.

Norton is just amazing, letting us see Seeger’s innermost feelings as he nurtures this young man, seeing him as the savior for the genre he loves most, and then that gradually curdles as Dylan forges his own, divergent path. I’m sure Chalamet will get plenty of awards attention, but I hope Norton does, too.

Boyd Holbrook has a rip-roarin’ turn as Johnny Cash, an admirer from afar of Dylan’s who eventually gets to meet him in person and befriend him. While others like Seeger advise Dylan to stick with folk music and not make waves, Cash encourages his rebellious ways, advising him to “track some mud on the carpet.”

The film is already being attacked by some people for cutting corners on on the historical facts. Guess what, all biographical movies do that.

It’s nigh-impossible to squeeze the messy history of a person’s life into a coherent two-hour movie. So filmmakers scrape and shape the record to meet the needs of their storytelling. (E.g., in “Ray” they made a big fuss about the discovery of Ray Charles having an illegitimate child. In fact, he had nine.)

If you want a scrupulous documentary about Bob Dylan’s early career, seek elsewhere. But if you are open to an incredibly soulful take that celebrates his passion and dedication to music, while acknowledging the very flawed man behind it, “A Complete Unknown” is a harmonious triumph.