A Complete Unknown
Rating: 4.5/5
By: Nathaniel Simpson
Bob Dylan is a very interesting man. From the way he evolved musically to the approach he took in displaying himself to the public, he captivated the world and had many people wrapped around his finger. His career since then has become a source of inspiration for many artists that have come after him, making him one of the most famous and inspirational singers in history. While Todd Haynes crafted his 2007 film I'm Not There in a very unique and stylistic way to portray Dylan's life, it is hard to consider that picture as a definitive biopic by today's standards. Therefore, James Mangold, who has a history with crafting biopics, decides to tackle the story of Dylan's life, with Timothée Chalamet playing the iconic singer. What he delivers is a fascinating and engaging film detailing Dylan's rise to the top, with perhaps Chalamet's best performance yet.
The film opens with Bob traveling to find a sick Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy), who is one of his musical heroes. When he finds that Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) is there to sing to Woody and keep him company, Bob is able to woo both of them, prompting Pete to invite the young man to stay with him and try to promote him as a singer and songwriter. From there, Bob starts his musical journey, going from a complete nobody to one of the biggest singers in the whole world, putting the folk genre on the map again after it died out. At the same time, he struggles with the price of fame and his various relationships, which include romantic ones with Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning) and Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro), but also professional relationships with Pete and Johnny Cash (Boyd Holbrook), to name a few.
Without a doubt, the best thing about this film is its performances. Chalamet is absolutely amazing as Dylan, and really embodies the role. He has Dylan down pat, from the way he walks, his mannerisms, the way he speaks in a sort of mumbled, hushed way, etc. He practically is Bob Dylan, and I honestly found that it was quite hard to see Chalamet in this movie. At the same time, Norton is really wonderful as Pete, giving this performance that we really haven't seen Norton do much. He is this lovable, innocent man that only wants the best for Bob, and it is so easy to fall in love with his character. While there are numerous great performances here, especially from Fanning and Barbaro as the love interests, it is truly Holbrook's performance that surprised me. I am not very familiar with most of the actor's work, but thought he was incredible in Mangold's superhero western, Logan. So, when I couldn't recognize who played Johnny Cash while watching this film, I was absolutely surprised to learn it was Holbrook. This is another performance where the actor is so good that he embodies the performance and practically transforms themselves.
With films like Ford vs Ferrari and Walk the Line under his belt, I was sure Mangold would do another great job directing a biopic about Bob Dylan. He simply knows how to tell these true stories and gets the audience to emphasize with the character. It doesn't matter whether or not they make the best choices, but the audience can feel for the main character and look past their flaws. That is what he does again here, showing how Dylan is not the best person in the world, but the audience still roots for him and feels bad when he is down or disappointed in how his musical career is going. Mangold does such an amazing job of manipulating the audience in this manner, and it works so well here.
In terms of the cinematography and the set/costume design, the filmmaking team really nails it. The shots throughout this film are beautiful, capturing Dylan and the world he is seeing at the time. It is all done so beautifully and really romanticizes this musical world of the 60's. At the same time, they designed this production beautifully, with it really feeling like this time period that the film is set in. From the way the world looks to the cars and the beautifully small apartments and hotel rooms, this movie just really works well as a period biopic.
Dylan has gone on to say Chalamet does a great job portraying him, and I would say that's an understatement. This is easily Chalamet's best performance so far, and he really taps into the mannerisms and attitude of this man. Mangold orchestrates the whole movie so wonderfully, and really does a great job of showcasing this iconic singer's life and how much he has affected this world we live in.
Comments
Post a Comment