What’s It About
At the Newport Folk Festival in 1965, a young Bob Dylan shakes up his act on the folk music scene by going electric and siring rock as the voice of a generation – defining one of the most transformative moments in 20th century music.
MOVIESinMO REVIEW
“A Complete Unknown” kicks off in 1961, with Bob Dylan landing in New York City. It follows the major beats of his early career up to his famous (or infamous) electric performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. Instead of dwelling on his Minnesota roots, which Dylan himself tried to forget, the movie hits the highlight reel of his rise to fame: performing for Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) and Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy), releasing his first albums, touring with Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro), and his romance with Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning). While Timothée Chalamet has strong windups in the more subdued moments allowing some insight into Dylan’s intensity and ego, in monologues laden with meaning about fame or art, he falls flat. His effort to put some voice to the real Dylan often borders on an Eddie Murphy SNL Buckwheat skit material instead of being a natural representation. The film wisely narrows its focus to a given stretch of time rather than trying to tell the entire life of Bob Dylan, but still feels more like a greatest hits compilation than a cohesive narrative. That said, Chalamet deserves credit for taking on such an iconic role. His musical performances are genuinely moving – when he plays “Song to Woody” for Seeger and Guthrie, it’s pure magic, and his rendition of “The Times They Are a-Changin'” stands out as the film’s best moment. The women in Dylan’s life get the usual biopic treatment – they’re either the patient girlfriend or the complicated artist-partner. Both Baez and Russo mostly bounce between being amazed by Dylan’s talent and fed up with his self-centered behavior. While we get glimpses of their own stories – Russo’s artistic dreams and Baez’s established career – they’re ultimately just supporting characters in Dylan’s journey. Monica Barbaro is particularly impressive as Baez, creating a real person rather than just copying the folk singer’s mannerisms. Her duets with Chalamet are some of the film’s best scenes. The biggest letdown is how the movie plays it safe with such a boundary-pushing artist. It skips over crucial moments that made Dylan controversial and interesting – his performances for sharecroppers, his fiery speech at the Emergency Civil Liberties Committee, his heated exchanges with reporters. The major events of the era – Vietnam, Civil Rights, JFK’s assassination – are reduced to background noise, just inspiration fodder for Dylan rather than the powerful forces that shaped his music and message. Even his performance at the 1963 March on Washington gets barely five seconds of screen time, with some pretty unconvincing CGI of Chalamet mixed into historical footage. In the end, “A Complete Unknown” feels like a paint-by-numbers biopic that dilutes all vigorousness of Dylan’s rebelliousness. Newcomers to Dylan won’t understand why he was such a big deal, while die-hard fans will grumble that shallow storytelling and occasional historic mix-ups really ruin the art. Sure, Chalamet might draw younger viewers, but they’ll see Dylan as just another entitled celebrity rather than the voice of a generation he became. The movie seems pretty pleased with itself, but honestly? It’s about as exciting as karaoke night at your local bar.
OUR RATING – A DILUTED 6