A Humble Review of “A Complete Unknown”

DIRECTED BY JAMES MANGOLD | STARRING TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET, ELLE FANNING, MONICA BARBARO & EDWARD NORTON

BASED ON AN EARLY SCREENING provided by AMC LINCOLN SQUARE 13 & SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES

About two weeks before the release of A Complete Unknown – Searchlight Pictures’ biopic about legendary musician, songwriter, and activist Bob Dylan – I started seeing a huge amount of promotional content surrounding the film. (Great job, marketing team. Target audience reached.) I soon came across @justmejas on TikTok, who was partnering with Searchlight Pictures to give people access to a free early screening, and ultimately made sure that we got into the theatre with no stress. (Thank you, Jas!) It was so much fun and we felt so grateful to be able to get something of a first look at this amazing film.

THE REVIEW

I think I was so giddy about seeing the film early that I didn't quite process how truly well done it was until the day after. The pacing was great. From what I’ve heard thus far from others, it did a stand-up job in doing this era of Bob Dylan, and America as a whole, justice. The soundtrack – well, it was Dylan’s music, so you know it was stellar. From my understanding, these biopics typically rely on pre-recorded tracks that they play during the filming process for actors to lip sync to, whether it’s their voice or not. However, according to the New York Times, “Chalamet's voice was so impressive that his live vocals — sung while performing in character — were kept for the final cut. That is not the industry standard.” Impressive work, Lil’ Timmy Tim.

I think Chalamet can confidently say that he accomplished his goal for this film, which he emphasized many times in the press: to capture the spirit of Bob Dylan, not perfect an exact impression. If they wanted to do the latter, they could have put James Austin Johnson or Jimmy Fallon, who pride themselves on their impressive Dylan impressions, in a wig. Maybe even held a Bob Dylan look-alike competition in Washington Square Park, like they did for Timothée? (BTW, the winner of said Chalamet look-alike contest was at the screening we attended, and the person hosting did try to pass him off as the real Timothée for a few seconds. Needless to say, the crowd went mild knowing we were not at the right screening to get a “hello” from the star of the film.)

Elle Fanning, who played a character named Sylvie Russo (meant to represent Dylan’s late Greenwich Village lover and muse Suze Rotolo), did an unsurprisingly phenomenal job. Fanning’s performance was one undeniably full of emotion – heartbreak, excitement, passion, and pride in her lover. When she felt joy, you rejoiced with her. When she felt pain, you couldn’t help but go through it alongside her. She was an ever-present influence on Bob’s music and the way he moved during the 60’s, inspiring him to stay true to himself and not change or “sell out” for anyone.

Monica Barbaro, who played Dylan’s supposed kryptonite Joan Baez, contributed a devastating presence to the storyline. Barbaro’s amazing vocal and guitar skills, which she quickly developed over the course of production, stirred up a simultaneously unsettling yet comfortable feeling when she performed throughout the film. She represented a steady yet temptuous force in this era of Dylan’s career that might have sent Bob into a tailspin if it hadn’t been for Joan setting him straight and standing firm in what she believed in and wanted.

Edward Norton’s Pete Seeger was very well done. I didn’t know a whole lot about Seeger or the part he played in Dylan’s success going into the film, so I loved learning about his social activism, his relationship with Woody Guthrie, and the generally supportive, good-naturedness he brought to the music scene. Norton captured his “good ol’ boy” presence very well, positioning him as a comforting supporting character in A Complete Unknown early on. As you’ll see later in the film, you do come to see him as more of a well-meaning antagonist, who ended up opposing the very thing he’d fought for for so long – progress.

The rest of the cast did a spectacular job as well. Boyd Holbrook made an impressive Johnny Cash. Scoot McNairy stole our hearts with his tragic Woody Guthrie. And I can’t go without mentioning the cameo from SNL’s James Austin Johnson, arguably the king of the Bob Dylan impression. It did my heart good to see him make an appearance in this film, even if just for a few moments.

MORE THOUGHTS + AN EXISTENTIAL CRISIS

My dad has always loved Bob Dylan and was undoubtedly the one who piqued my interest in him. I remember hearing about Dylan from a fairly young age, before I could really process the many facets of his career/persona. I remember my dad speaking very highly of him – of his talent, of his impact and of his character development. I would occasionally discover a new (to me) Dylan tune that would appear in a film or on a Spotify radio station. Despite all that, I still didn't know nearly as much as I would have liked coming into the movie. I suppose I could only appreciate it so much, being from a different generation – one that never saw Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire climb the charts, witnessed the British invasion, or watched Woody Guthrie descend into an illness that corroded his mind and his words – two of his most powerful instruments.

After the excitement of the screening died down, I spent several hours diving into all the Bob Dylan lore. I watched a plethora of late night A Complete Unknown cast interviews, Zane Lowe’s chat with Chalamet (Becoming Bob Dylan), and lots of old clips of Dylan himself just existing in his charmingly weird manner.

I'm amazed, watching through this variety of content, by how universally loved and admired Bob Dylan seems to be in the entertainment industry today. He's this enigmatic artist whom everybody wants to know. But no one ever will. Watching and reading about different aspects of his life tickles something in my brain – the part that longs to be mysterious and individualistic (even though I've become accustomed to sharing a lot about my life on the internet. I mean, even this thing I'm writing is turning out to be entirely un-mysterious of me. Oh well.)

Between this biopic and the curiosity that it brought on, I genuinely felt like a changed person as a result of Bob’s story. It’s not atypical for me to develop a new lease on life after watching any new movie with a message. I’m easily inspired and impressed. But I’ll admit, I had a bit of an existential crisis following this film. One bigger than the many others I’ve had since entering my 20’s. I genuinely had to stop and go “What am I doing with my life?”

“Am I letting others put me in a box – or worse, putting myself in one?”

So many things I hear in Dylan’s lyrics and even his kinda cool, kind awkward interviews really resonate with me and inspire me to be a better / cooler / “creative-er” version of myself. I may drive myself crazy trying to reinvent myself after all this. Hopefully, I can find a more natural way to develop my own persona over time, and effectively separate myself from the “status quo” in the way that I often wish to. The hard thing to grasp is that people like Dylan often appear so unbothered and free from worry about the way others perceive them. But I am devastatingly obsessed with the way others perceive me. I think, until I can truly let go of that (2025 resolution, anyone?), I will continue to feel trapped in a never-ending cycle of going with the flow while trying to stand out. It’s a hard thing to explain and I’m still working through it.

But one thing became clear to me after watching this film, just in time for the new year: I’ve got to start living more unapologetically.

BONUS CONTENT

After scoring those early screening passes, I started getting Searchlight Pictures ads (thank you, algorithm) about the premiere in NYC, which was conveniently happening the next night two hours after I got off work. So, like the crazy person that I am, I left our apartment immediately after work and made great time over to Chelsea where the premiere was happening. Did I have a plan? Not really. I just thought I’d show up and look cool and see where the night took me. Sadly, I did not look any cooler than the rest of the local adoring fans that showed up before and after I did, so I slunk my way into a small crowd behind a barricade outside a tented red carpet setup.

I made two temporary friends – one from Michigan where my job is based, the other from Missouri where I spent the first 24 years of my life. Between our hometowns, our jobs, and our confusion over how this whole autograph/photo thing was going to work, we had plenty to discuss until dozens of black vehicles with tinted windows began showing up and casually spilling celebrities out of their doors. Here are a few of the exciting faces I got to see:

PICTURED LEFT TO RIGHT: Edward Norton, Timothée Chalamet, Boyd Holbrook, Elle Fanning, James Mangold