A Complete Unknown
James Mangold, USA, 2024o
In the vibrant New York music and culture scene of the early 1960s, an unconventional 19-year-old from Minnesota is making a name for himself with his guitar and talent. During his rise to folk stardom, which sees him form and break friendships and relationships, the young man with the stage name Bob Dylan feels increasingly constrained by the dominant style of his time. Eventually, he makes a decision that shocks not only those around him.
The definitive biopic about Bob Dylan already existed in the form of the wonderfully experimental role-playing film I'm Not There (2007), in which the mercurial star is portrayed by a cast of actors. But Hollywood can't easily give up one of its last profitable genres. A Complete Unknown is based on Elijah Wald's book Dylan Goes Electric, adapted with the help of venerable 80-year-old screenwriter and critic Jay Cocks, and focuses on the singer-songwriter's early creative years up to his famous break with folk at the 1965 Newport Festival. In a very classic way, we see how Dylan arrives in New York from his native Minnesota a few years earlier, initially to assist his idol Woody Guthrie, who is suffering from a degenerative disease. With the help of another folk veteran, Pete Seeger, who is impressed by the 19-year-old talent, he soon makes his breakthrough on the Manhattan folk scene. He meets Sylvie (name changed) and later a certain Joan Baez, who invites him to Newport – and so on. All in all, nothing original and even a little rehashed for those familiar with the Coen brothers' enjoyable folk tribute Inside Llewyn Davis. Fortunately, James Mangold, who previously directed the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, is a skilled filmmaker, and thanks to the strong cast, the film quickly picks up steam. First there is Timothée Chalamet, who takes mimicry so far that he even convincingly interprets the great classics from Dylan's repertoire. But there's also Edward Norton, who bursts onto the screen as Seeger, the always wonderful Elle Fanning as the touching Sylvie, and Monica Barbaro, who leaves nothing to be desired in her portrayal of Joan Baez. The brilliant but elusive Dylan, a self-obsessed heartbreaker, doesn't necessarily come across in the best light, but that's all the better. By the climax of the spectacle, at the latest, the moment has arrived: we are literally electrified.
Norbert CreutzGalleryo
