A Complete Unknown: The Bob Dylan Movie

This biopic for an all-time legend blows in the wind with critics, but gets a heavenly reception from audiences. In the spirit of Bob Dylan, let's sift through the noise, Hundred Tomatoes style.

“We’re going to go see ‘A Complete Unknown’.”

“I’ve never heard of it. What’s it about?”

“It’s that movie about Bob Dylan starring Timothée Chalamet.”

“Ohhhhhh that one. That looks good. Let me know how it is!”

The above summarizes approximately forty-two different conversations I took part in with people prior to watching this movie. Occasionally, a film comes around so easy to outline, that it makes you wonder why the filmmakers did not just go ahead and simplify the title. After all, if they do not beat everyone to the punch, it will get labeled as such regardless. All jokes aside, I understand why they call it what they do, but boy would it save so much time if they just followed suit of Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” so that everyone would immediately recognize the subject matter.

Anyway, “The Bob Dylan Movie, starring Timothée Chalamet”, AKA James Mangold’s “A Complete Unknown” starts in New York, during the year 1961. Against the backdrop of a vibrant music scene and tumultuous cultural upheaval, an enigmatic 19-year-old from Minnesota arrives with his guitar and revolutionary talent, destined to change the course of American music. He forges intimate relationships with music icons of Greenwich Village on his meteoric rise, culminating in a groundbreaking and controversial performance that reverberates worldwide.

Does “A Complete Unknown” prompt people to throw garbage at the performers? Or does it lead to a revolutionary revelation? Before answering that question, let’s look at what the professional haters over at “Rotten Tomaters” are saying about this film:

Critic Score: 79% Certified Fresh

Critic Consensus: Charged by Timothée Chalamet's electric performance, this ballad of Bob Dylan might not get under the enigmatic artist's skin but will make you feel like you've spent time in his company.

Audience Score: 96% Certified Fresh

Audience Synopsis: Endless praise for Timothée Chalamet’s performance and for Bob Dylan’s music.

Of all the reviews on Hundred Tomatoes so far, “A Complete Unknown” possesses not only the largest discrepancy between critics and audiences at a whopping seventeen points, but also is the first one where we see the audiences absolutely LOVING this film, but critics not hopping on the adoration train in the same way. Obviously, part of Bob Dylan’s greatness lies in his ability to march to the beat of his own drummer. In the spirit of the legend himself, we’ll do the same over at Hundred Tomatoes when examining this movie.

Spoiler Alert: I will likely discuss specific scenes from the movie that may unveil certain plot points. If you have not seen the movie and would rather not have parts spoiled, you can quickly scroll to our “TL;DR” synopsis at the end, our official score out of, you guessed it, one hundred tomatoes and the “Oscar Watch” section, which speculates on its prospects at the 97th Academy Awards in a spoiler free fashion.

Without further ado, let’s go to the full review!

How many people in life do you know with the following accolades:

- 11 Grammy Awards

- The Presidential Medal of Freedom

- A Nobel Prize in Literature

- 40 studio albums (not including all the live albums, among others)

- Over 125 million records sold worldwide

- An Academy Award for “Best Original Song”

- An Induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

- A Pulitzer Prize citation

If you claim to know more than one person with all these listed accomplishments, you are a straight up LIAR. That’s because only one man in the entirety of the world achieved all of this in one lifetime. His name? You guessed it, Bob Dylan. If you did not get that right, I highly recommend avoiding “Jeopardy”, “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”, or really, anything that requires reading comprehension. I literally SPOON FED you this answer. You’re welcome.

All these accolades create an absolute treasure trove of content to pull from when making a biopic about this living legend. The question I would ask if I were Director Sam Mangold, is, “where do I start?” In this case, he decides to go back to the beginning part of his career, which ultimately, makes the most sense, especially when it comes to examining some of the moments that led to his massive rise in popularity over the years.

To play an extraordinary man like this, it requires an extraordinary personality. Not only does he possess some eccentric quirks, but he also performs in such a distinct fashion.

Timothée Chalamet takes up this tough task and pulls it off masterfully. The way he portrays Dylan’s mannerisms, his speech patterns, his singing, and all the other elements that come along with it is nothing short of phenomenal. The best part? It all comes across as highly authentic. He pays a beautiful homage to the man, while embodying his spirit in so many ways. The part that blows me away about this performance stems from his decision to perform his music live on set. Sometimes in musical biopics, actors opt to use recordings of other voices for the artist they act out on screen.

In this case, the decision to not only personally sing, but do so without the assistance of a recording studio adds a level of authenticity that absolutely encapsulates. All the musical performances in this are top tier. The two most memorable ones involve his rendition of “The Times They Are A Changin’” (a powerful movie magic moment if I do say so myself), and “Like a Rolling Stone” near the end. Both give me goosebumps just thinking about them.

While Chalamet steals the show, the ensemble cast compliments him extremely nicely. Edward Norton playing the role of Pete Seeger comes across as a sympathetic, mentor-like figure to Bob Dylan. Elle Fanning as one of his love interests, Sylvie Russo, puts on an emotionally heartfelt performance that beautifully brings the magic of “The Times They Are a Changin’” to life. One of the more underrated acting showcases comes from Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez. Her voice is excellent, and she does a nice job walking the line between admiring, while also despising Bob Dylan.

Not many of them get a chance to showcase a ton of range, but they all turn in believable, sympathetic, and engaging performances. Aside from the musical elements, the acting is without a doubt the highlight of this film. I put it up there with “Conclave” and a few others as one of the best all-around crews this year.

The problem with so much content to pull from stems from the fact that if not executed properly, it can leave a lot to be desired. As a result, the writing, along with the vision on this film divides me for a variety of reasons. On one hand, I appreciate the “show, don’t tell” nuanced approach they take to Bobby D. This does not feel like a film that seeks to serve as propaganda for Zimmy, but instead cover his life objectively, in a way that puts all his strengths and all his flaws out in the ether for us to observe. Too often, these musical biopics cover the musicians with such rose tinted glasses that I half expect Billy Mays (may he rest in peace) to pop out of the screen so he can shout at us a 1-800 number for us to call in case we want to a buy a “Greatest Hits” album of the featured artist.

“A Complete Unknown” avoids the “Billy Mays” trap nicely, portraying him as the enigma many people know and love. Every scene gets the era down to a science. From the eccentric outfits, to the stage, to the grainy, vintage film style, to everything else under the sun. It truly feels like I am watching the Bob Dylan’s life unfold right in front of my eyes, which I can greatly appreciate. While I did not grow up during that time, considering that they actually consulted the legend himself before making this, it becomes abundantly clear they put a ton of effort into ensuring authenticity that could bring everything to life. Especially when comparing the real-life Newport Folk Festival, and the events that unfolded in this film.

On the other hand, the creative decision makes the plot come across as a bit listless. The vision revolves moreso around covering many key moments in his early career accurately (many of which involve musical performances) as opposed to trying to crack any codes or psychoanalyzing the genius behind the artist. Near the end, I find some takeaways pertaining to his desire to avoid getting put into some kind of creative box. This arc occurs in the latter half. However, for a good two thirds of the movie, I could not help but think, “okay, this is nice and all, and they’re all clearly very talented. But what’s the point of everything?” They never create any real sense of urgency for a good chunk of the film. It eventually all comes together theme wise, but it takes a while.

My ultimate critique of the writing stems from its overreliance on Dylan’s music for every scene. Since much of the film feels like an extended concert, the writers do not get a chance to world build as much as they could. Nor do they add a lot of layers to many of the characters. Too much of the dialogue seems basic and gets carried by the excellent acting from the ensemble cast. As a result, I find it difficult to get emotionally invested in the stakes of the film. Neither of the romance arcs appear fully fleshed out, but that seems intentional because of the enigmatic nature of The Bard, as opposed to a lack of creativity on their end. Nobody quite understands the guy, and they showcase that well. It becomes clear the filmmakers do not want viewers to comprehend him personally or his creative process. They just want you to appreciate his talent, his music, and his desire to march to the beat of his own drummer. It entertains, but unfortunately does not move me on a deep level as a result.

With so many songs to pull from in only a limited period, I comprehend the creative decision to cram all these musical performances into “A Complete Unknown”. But, if I want to listen to nonstop Bob Dylan, I could go on Spotify, watch a documentary about him, or observe endless YouTube videos of his live performances. As much as it pains me to say it, I contest that they could have cut a few of the songs from the film and added in some more moments of his life.

Despite what I find to be an overreliance on musical numbers, the writing shines brightly at times. Certain pieces of dialogue are witty and engaging. For example, whoever came up with the line, “your music sounds like an oil painting at the dentist’s office” (maybe Bob Dylan himself did?) deserves a raise, because that zinger got a genuine laugh out of me. I also thoroughly enjoy Pete Seeger’s monologue near the end where he tells an intriguing metaphorical story in an attempt to get Bob Dylan to stay within the confines of his artistry for the Newport Folk Festival.

Contrary to my joke at the beginning of this review, the decision to name the movie “A Complete Unknown” is clever, as certain entendres exist with that title. Not only does Bobby D enter the music scene as a no-name, but you never quite know what’s on his mind, making him A COMPLETE UNKNOWN in that respect, and the line also pops up in his hit song, “Like a Rolling Stone”. There’s talent in that writer’s room, but the overreliance on using existing music to propel the plot forward gives them less opportunities to flex their chops.

At the end of the day, love for this movie boils down to how deep you want Sam Mangold to dig on the life of Bob Dylan. If you want authentic renditions of his famous songs met with a top tier acting performance from Timothée Chalamet, some magical moments featuring a robust cast, a nice homage to the songwriter of a generation that covers him in a nuanced way, and a few laughs here and there, this movie delivers. However, for those wanting something that digs deeper into societal observations (or the mindset of the man in question for that matter), hoping for a higher sense of urgency, or desiring more dynamic characters with layers baked into the cake, then it might be best to examine some of the other Oscar contenders out there before diving into this one.

TL;DR Synopsis: A nicely nuanced, musically gifted tribute to Bob Dylan featuring a fantastic performance from Timothée Chalamet whose plot meanders more than preferred.

HT Score: 74/100

Oscar Watch:

Due to its relatively solid box office success, the propensity of the Academy to reward musical biopics to some degree, a potential nostalgia factor for those who grew up appreciating Bob Dylan’s artistry, and the quality of the ensemble cast, I give this about a fifty-five percent chance of nomination for the coveted “Best Picture” prize. The main aspect that could sink it could come from the fact that it lacks some of the depth from a theme development perspective other strong contenders possess, preventing voters from placing it in their top five. As of now, it has a lot of momentum that could carry it to a courtesy nomination. Along with that, a few other possibilities exist when it comes to earning nominations at the 97^th Oscars:

Best Actor: Timothée Chalamet knocks it out of the park with his portrayal of Bobby D. His mannerisms, vocals, and speech patterns show that he gained a thorough understanding of the man across the board before deciding to portray him. I guarantee he gets a nomination here. He could also win the award. I’m predicting it will come down to a three-horse race between him, Ralph Fiennes, and Adrian Brody in “The Brutalist”. As of now, he possesses a distinct advantage over the other two in terms of industry exposure and the marketing behind the dramatic transformation he took to make this movie happen.

Best Supporting Actor: Depending on the caliber of competition, along with how much momentum this film ultimately carries through awards season, I could totally see Edward Norton sneaking in a nomination here as Pete Seeger, one of the more important figures in Dylan’s life. Norton is an industry darling, and he comes across as a compelling, yet caring father figure quite well.

Best Sound: The creative decision to have Timothée Chalamet sing live as Bob Dylan paid off immaculately. They needed to mix all kinds of sounding music into this, which they achieved masterfully. The sound in this pays beautiful homage to the music of the enigma.