By Bob Grimm
The movie surrounding him is merely decent—but Timothee Chalamet is so incredible as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown that he elevates the film.
Under the direction of James Mangold (Walk the Line), Chalamet sings and plays both the guitar and the harmonica as the former Robert Zimmerman, folk legend and rock pioneer.
The story spans from Dylan’s initial meeting with Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger (Scoot McNairy and Edward Norton) to Dylan’s controversial “plugged-in” show at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.
You may monitor the actual singing and fingerpicking of Chalamet to convince yourself he’s actually doing it … but there’s no need: I’m telling you he is doing it. Chalamet worked on his playing for five years (including hard work during the pandemic) to perfect his style. His singing voice isn’t a total copy of Dylan’s, but it absolutely captures his spirit and, consequently, channels the legend. He’s a marvel to behold.
Almost just as marvelous is Norton, who does his own banjo playing and singing as Seeger, and Monica Barbaro, playing guitar and singing impeccably as Joan Baez. All the performances are so wonderful that you’ll forgive some of the paint-by-numbers biopic-storytelling issues that sometimes hamper the film.
Despite its small flaws, A Complete Unknown winds up being can’t-miss cinema for anybody who values the works of Dylan and his counterparts. Chalamet, Norton and Barbaro are all excellent, each delivering career best work and instantly entering the pantheon of great musical-icon biopic performances.
A Complete Unknown opens on Tuesday, Dec. 24.
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