Review: Timothée Chalamet nails it in new Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown”

Film depcits key moments in the evolution of poet prince’s sound and personna

A Complete Unknown
What: Movie, 141 minutes
When: Wed., Dec. 25
Where: In theatres
Genre: Biopic
Rating: NNNNN (out of 5)
Why you should watch: Raw and authentic, like Bob Dylan at his best, Timothée Chalamet leads a stellar cast as the bedraggled, poet prince.


TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET IS PERFECT with an Oscar-worthy performance as a bedraggled 19-year-old Bob Dylan arriving in New York City from Minnesota in 1961, searching for Woody Guthrie and a music career, in the excellent Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown.

 Chalamet brings understated excellence to the role as we see Dylan mature from an untried artist to legendary status as he carefully manages his own public backstory.

And gawd damn, Chalamet looks cool as the emerging poet prince in shades and quietly badass attitude, riding his motorcycle or moving purposefully through the gritty streets of lower Manhattan, dropping sardonic humour and fuck-the-man vibes as his star rises and he navigates a personal life filled with increasing choices.

Chalamet leads a stellar cast that sees Ed Norton nail it as Dylan’s mentor, Pete Seeger, who eventually loses his ability to influence his young protegee. Dylan ultimately “betrays” the folk scene that Seeger stars in, making his turn to electric music.

Ellen Fanning is heartbreakingly sweet as Dylan’s naïve young girlfriend, Sylvie Russo, who fights to hang onto him as his star rises and he attracts a tidal wave of adoration. Monica Barbaro is solid as Joan Baez, whose success is initially much more than Dylan’s, singing songs he says might be “too beautiful” and whose aesthetic he equates with paintings in a dentist’s office as the couple move in and out of a combative relationship that is often concurrent with Russo.

Both Chalamet and Barbaro sing their own songs in the film and do a good job of it. Dylan’s limited vocal range no doubt forms an easier “target” than Baez’s ethereal tones, though both performers nail it and perform complete songs in the film.

A Complete Unknown opens with Dylan having tracked down Guthrie in a New Jersey hospital, where Seeger sits by his side. Just outside Manhattan, the wannabee singer performs a track he had written expressly for his hero, and both Seeger and Guthrie love it, igniting a friendship between the three and sparking a mentoring role for Seeger with Dylan.

We see Dylan go from singing “other people’s stuff,” classic folk songs, at open mics in NYC to eventually performing his own originals. Though his originals are quickly embraced, he has to wait for his second album to record anything written by himself.

Many are eager to help Dylan along the way as he rises on the scene but are surprised to find themselves ultimately powerless to manipulate the freewheeling poet who has his own ideas on what he is doing, how to do it and who he is. As we see Dylan navigate his rapid rise, all roads lead to Newport, where Dylan is to be featured as a headlining artist at the legendary folk festival. But as he electrifies his sound, Seeger and festival organizers do everything they can to maintain the purity of their Americana event, beseeching Dylan to stay acoustic in his performance.

Most probably know how that goes, but — as a younger viewer reminded me after the screening — this is likely all new information to younger generations, and it’s sufficiently dramatic and compelling to work with little to no foreknowledge of the singer-songwriter who achieved mythic status with boomers.

Director James Mangold (Ford v. Ferrari, Walk the Line) has crafted a fast-paced, authentic look at a critical period in the making of the Dylan legend that has no false steps. Chalamet captures the elusive essence of “cool” in a film that will get tons of box-office attention as well as plenty of looks during award season. Highly recommended.