A Complete Unknown
The Tale of an Undernourished Cockatoo.
Bob Dylan is a musician. Bob Dylan is a pioneer. Bob Dylan is a legend. But who is Bob Dylan the person? What do we really know about him beyond the mystique? This is the question that A Complete Unknown sets out to explore—or rather, only partially addresses. The film, directed by James Mangold and starring Timothée Chalamet as the enigmatic Dylan, focuses narrowly on the first four years of Dylan’s career, from his arrival in New York to his meteoric rise in the folk music scene and his eventual leap toward electrified innovation.
If you're expecting A Complete Unknown to be a grand, all-encompassing biopic that reveals all the secrets about one of the most influential figures in music history, well, you might be a bit disappointed. The film opts for a more restrained focus, highlighting just a few early years of Dylan's career. It traces his beginnings in the New York folk scene, the connections that helped him rise, and the first steps in his artistic evolution.
The film concludes at a crucial turning point: Dylan’s infamous performance at the Newport Folk Festival, where he took the stage with an electric guitar, sparking outrage among folk music purists. After this moment, the story wraps up quickly, with a series of on-screen text slides outlining Dylan’s later accomplishments, from his groundbreaking albums to his historic Nobel Prize in Literature—the only one ever awarded to a musician.
The problem with A Complete Unknown lies in its lack of narrative urgency. Dylan’s life, while musically revolutionary, lacks the melodrama or tragedy often found in other artist biopics. He didn’t face insurmountable personal struggles or scandals in his early career. His trajectory—from signing with Columbia Records to becoming a household name—seems relatively smooth.
While A Complete Unknown aims to peel back the layers of Bob Dylan's mystique, it struggles to balance its ambitions with its limited scope. By focusing solely on the first four years of Dylan’s career, the film misses an opportunity to delve into the events and transformations that cemented his place as a cultural icon. The story remains restrained, offering glimpses of his talent and audacity but leaving the audience wanting more. Moreover, the narrative feels stretched, filling time with subplots and romantic entanglements that fail to add meaningful depth. These distractions dilute the central theme and make the pacing uneven, leaving the impression that the filmmakers were unsure of how to make their subject fully resonate.
Only in the film’s latter half does the thematic core truly take shape, and it’s here that A Complete Unknown finds its most compelling moments. The narrative shifts focus to Dylan’s growing realization that true artistry requires evolution, even at the cost of alienating those around him. This pivotal transformation—his move from traditional folk to electrified experimentation—not only redefined his music but also challenged the very foundation of the genre he initially thrived in.
The film skillfully captures the tension of this moment, as Dylan’s bold choices ripple through his community of peers, mentors, and fans. It’s less about the controversy itself and more about what it signifies: a fearless commitment to growth and a refusal to stagnate. This arc highlights Dylan as a disruptor, someone who viewed comfort and conformity as barriers to creative freedom. While this revelation comes later in the story, it brings an intensity and sense of purpose that elevates the film’s latter half, leaving a lasting impression of Dylan’s trailblazing spirit.
When Timothée Chalamet was first announced as Dylan, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was a misstep. The idea didn’t inspire much confidence or excitement. But how refreshing it is to admit I was wrong—Chalamet rose to the challenge and delivered a nuanced performance, capturing Dylan’s aloof demeanor, quiet arrogance, and undeniable charisma. His portrayal conveys Dylan’s disdain for conformity and his singular focus on his art. Impressively, Chalamet also performs Dylan’s songs himself, lending authenticity to his performance and earning well-deserved admiration.
The supporting cast is equally strong, portraying figures from Dylan’s orbit with subtlety and depth. Their performances help ground the film, even when the script falters.
Ultimately, A Complete Unknown feels more like an introductory chapter than a definitive biography. For die-hard fans of Dylan, the film offers little new insight beyond a love letter to the folk scene of the early 1960s. For newcomers, it serves as a starting point, albeit one that lacks the breadth and ambition needed to fully explain Dylan’s cultural significance.
The film’s greatest shortcoming is its reluctance to delve into the more iconic phases of Dylan’s career—his rock trilogy, his poetic reinvention of songwriting, and his enduring influence on music and literature. While this limitation prevents the film from offering a fuller portrait of the artist, it still succeeds in capturing a pivotal moment in his development, offering a glimpse of the man before he fully embraced his transformative power. But, you know, he is still a "complete unknown." And let him be that.
7/10
