Alex Wheeler Movie Ops

Littering film history is an array of musical biopics, some straightforward (Walk the Line), some mocking (Walk Hard), and others baffling (I’m Not There) It would be impossible to ignore this history while talking about A Complete Unknown because it draws so much from all these films, pulling tried-and-true methods into a handsome take on Bob Dylan that never takes any of the chances the man did.

The film focuses on Dylan’s early rise in the New York City folk scene and then his growth out of that genre restriction. Dylan is now a notoriously eclectic and mysterious figure, but the film covers the first time the world learned just how unpredictable he could be. He clashes with Pete Seeger, who’s attempting to maintain the purity of folk. He jumps between relationships with Joan Baez and activist/artist Sylvie Russo without regard for their feelings. But mostly he bristles. He bristles against expectation and boxes and anyone who doesn’t let him roll along as he pleases.

A Complete Unknown loves this about its version of Dylan. It’s a fawning piece, spending large amounts of time lingering on people being awestruck by his brilliance. The annoyance brought on by this is tempered by just how great the songs being performed are, but it’s indicative of how little the film really tries to understand Dylan. This is a removed film, taking in events but not the man, perfectly happy to hang back and admire the history unfolding within it.

This makes it a very conventional film, one that is easy to watch but slips immediately from your memory. It meshes with all the other, similar films that came before it, including co-writer/director James Mangold’s take on Johnny Cash, Walk the Line. That film is nearly 20 years old, and it was a direct target of the musical biopic parody Walk Hard. There are reasons for conventions, but when leaned on too hard, they bore instead of delight. A Complete Unknown leans so hard on convention that many will be bored, feeling every beat the film takes before they come.

Such an uninspired approach is especially stark when applied to Dylan. Not only does Dylan not follow convention, the story this film tells is of not following convention. Such audacity and creativity is what’s being celebrated, making the film’s tone clash with the story being told.

In another strange choice, the film keeps Dylan himself at a distance. You don’t get to know the man, as he’s far too idolized to be a complex person. Timothée Chalamet does a decent impersonation, but he hardly inhabits Dylan.

Far more of an impression is given in I’m Not There, a loose take on various eras of Dylan. Episodic and strange, the film captures ideas about Dylan, and in aggregate, feels like a much more complete representation of the legendary artist.

A Complete Unknown settles for simple idolization, something Dylan hardly needs. We all know the songs. We all have some version of his meticulously obtuse persona in our heads. We don’t need to be told he’s brilliant. Which begs the question of why A Complete Unknown exists. It does not capture him clearly. It also doesn’t capture his artistic approaches. It conforms and takes no chances, making it a film unworthy of its subject.

Release: Available now in theaters
Director: James Mangold
Writers: James Mangold, Jay Cocks
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, Boyd Holbrook, Dan Fogler, Norbert Leo Butz, Scoot McNairy