There has been no shortage of musical biopics made in the last 20 or so years. In fact, it is hard to find any relatively famous musician who has not been portrayed in some fashion on the big screen, regardless of the quality of the film. Until now, one of the only ones left standing was Bob Dylan. Well, that is not entirely true. There was one released in 2007, titled “I’m Not There,” which starred Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale and many others as different “versions” of Dylan, but it was kind of weird and flew under the radar, so to many, “A Complete Unknown” would be the ‘definitive’ Dylan movie.
The film began development in early 2020, with James Mangold set to direct, and then-rising star Timothée Chalamet cast as Dylan. Five years later, with Chalamet now one of the biggest actors in the world and Bob Dylan still alive and well, the film is out for new audiences to delve into his life, which doesn’t need star power to lead. One of the main things that Mangold succeeds in is staying true to that. Bob Dylan is one of the most intriguing people alive, and even without Hollywood magic, he has quite a story. The film targets just a small portion of that, covering the four years from when Dylan first arrived in New York in 1961 to his infamous performance at Newport in 1965.
At this point, it is a tale as old as time. Dylan started off as a young, shy folk singer and just a few years later, solidified himself as a rock star much to the chagrin of folk loyalists. Mangold does a great job of depicting this journey. He is able to put the audience on the ground in 1960s Greenwich Village and show Dylan’s musical progression all the way through him eventually ‘going electric.’
This phenomenon, which occurred at the aforementioned Newport Folk Festival in 1965, serves as the climax of the film. Throughout the movie, it feels like everything is just leading up to this moment. Even in the very beginning, there are little cracks in everything Bob says, constantly implying, or even just straight-up saying, that he does not want to be put in a box and wants to make the music he wants to make. This comes to a head at the concert and in the events leading up to it, and Mangold succeeds in expressing the true magnitude of the situation as well as what it meant to both Dylan and the greater musical world.
He gets some help with some all-around astounding performances. Chalamet is excellent in the main role, and despite the immense popularity of both the actor and the person he is portraying, it never once feels as though he is just up there doing his best Bob Dylan impression. Everyone around him is incredible as well. Ed Norton perfectly encapsulates Pete Seeger and the kind of person that he is, with his genuine kindness often working against Dylan’s increasing cynicism. Monica Barbaro and Elle Fanning are also spectacular as Joan Baez and Sylvie Russo (representing Suze Rotolo, Dylan’s girlfriend at the time), respectively. Since the film is of course based around Dylan, there are points in which their characters are presented more so as his love interests rather than their own characters, but the actresses do a great job at never getting pigeonholed in that role. They make the characters as compelling as they can be given the opportunity.
Once again, this is a movie almost solely about Bob Dylan. There could be a whole additional movie about Joan Baez, for example, but for the sake of the run time, she is definitely not the character she could have been. The same goes for Russo, who, when given the chance, proves to be an incredibly interesting character, but her arc simply results in her crying over Dylan. This is an example of where the film sort of loses its step. Many times throughout the movie, it begins to feel almost like a Bob Dylan worship piece. There is no doubt that he is an interesting figure, however, Mangold essentially takes up the entire two-and-a-half hour run time saying that again and again. Even in the moments where Bob is clearly in the wrong, such as cheating on Russo or consistently backstabbing Pete Seeger, it is depicted as if that was just the cool, Bob Dylan-y thing to do because he seemingly can do no wrong.
As a result, Bob never really learns anything throughout the movie, and there is not much progression for the character. Yes, his music is different by the end, but as a person, Bob is the exact same. He might wear sunglasses and say some mysterious things, but other than that he is no different than the kid who moved to New York with nothing but his guitar. In real life, this is honestly inspiring and most likely accurate to who Bob really is as a person, but for a movie, it leaves a lot to be desired. As a whole, the film does not really have that compelling of a plot. A large percentage of the scenes are of Dylan making music in the studio or performing at shows, which is perfect for fans of the music, but Mangold often uses these scenes as a crutch, allowing him to leave out any interesting plot points.
However, to say that this is not enjoyable would not be true. Musically speaking, there is not much more one could ask for. The recreations of all the music, whether it be from Dylan, Baez, Seeger, Johnny Cash, and many more, are all great, along with some incredible live performances to top it off. If someone’s sitting in the theater watching “Like a Rolling Stone” get made in the studio or watching Dylan and Baez perform “It Ain’t Me, Babe,” there is a pretty small chance they are going to be thinking about plot elements or Dylan’s character development or anything of the sorts. If someone wants an accurate depiction of Bob Dylan’s rise to fame and wants to listen to some good music at the same time, this film does exactly that. Maybe it is not a cinematic masterpiece nor a gripping plot, but there probably are not too many people that care.
“Movies I’ve Seen” is a column by Carter Blake dedicated to reviewing new film releases.