A Complete Unknown

By Joanna Langfield

You can have your Wicked one, this is the sing along screening I want.

Is James Mangold’s biography of Bob Dylan, or at least his early days, a great piece of art? No. Is it revelatory or even historically accurate? Not really. But, close as it is to all that, it is also one of the most entertaining movies of the year.

Timothee Chalamet has taken on the unenviable task of not just playing Dylan, but singing many of the classics that started the legendary career back in the 1960’s. Devotees of the singer/songwriter may differ, but I was pleasantly surprised at Chalamet’s transformation. Much of the charm the actor is known for is tossed aside, presenting Dylan as difficult, complicated and determined. And maybe that is the truth. Or maybe it isn’t. Mangold’s script (written with Jay Cocks and Elijah Wald) doesn’t try to explain the personality behind the actions. It shows what (maybe) happened, not why. And it seems perfectly content with that. They didn’t borrow the lyric, “A Complete Unknown” as the movie’s title for nothing.

Elle Fanning and Monica Barbaro both impress as the two women in Dylan’s personal life, Sylvie Russo (based on the real life Suze Rotolo) and the iconic Joan Baez. Impressive turns, too, from Scoot McNairy, as Woody Guthrie and Dan Fogler as Albert Grossmam. But the most outstanding almost sneaks up on us, coming from a truly great Edward Norton, who not only nails the physicality I remember, watching Pete Seeger when I was a child, but the myriad emotions of a famous person, watching as the young talent he mentored, grows on his own.

No worries if you don’t consider yourself a Dylan fan. The movie works anyway. And the songs chosen for the soundtrack here are ubiquitous, you’ve heard them and know them even if you think you might not. And you’ll be singing along with them (hopefully to yourself), enjoying the ride.