An honest review of "A Complete Unknown"

Elle est une cinéphile - French for "she is a film lover"

Ever since the news came out that Timothée Chalamet would be playing Bob Dylan in his biopic, I had been eagerly waiting to watch it. Then, two weeks ago, I finally bought the tickets and went to the late night session at the local movie theatre. The room was the biggest in the cinema, but it was only half full, so I couldn’t help but wonder if the movie was not going to live up to my high expectations.

Poster for “A Complete Unknown” starring Timothée Chalamet

After, ten minutes of ads and trailers - “hey, we should go see that movie when it comes out” - Chalamet appeared on screen. The movie is extremely well set in the early 1960s, where we get to see Greenwich Village (New York) and the music scene, with talented singers including Pete Seeger (played by Edward Norton), Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy) and Johnny Cash (Boyd Holdbrook).

Timothée perfectly embodies Bob Dylan with his mannerisms, voice, and unmistakable presence. The actor trained 5 years for this role, taking classes and practicing his singing and guitar skills even between takes in the set of Dune. He also has very powerful quotes throughout the movie that make you empathize with Bob Dylan and get to know him on a deeper level.

The movie, however, wouldn’t be what it is without the other cast members. Monica Barbaro, whom I knew from Top Gun: Maverick, stuns with her sweet voice and her strong-minded personality portraying Joan Baez. The actress had to take guitar and singing lessons for the movie but one would think she was a natural. I’m sure we will see more of her in the coming years, she is clearly very talented.

Elle Fanning, on the other hand, plays Suze Rotolo, Dylan’s muse, confidant, and girlfriend during the early 1960s. However, the singer specifically requested her name not be used for the movie because she was a “very private person and didn’t ask for this life”. Instead, her character’s name is Sylvie, an aspiring artist who meets Bob Dylan at Riverside Church before he rose to fame. She was later featured in one of his album covers.

All the other actors are also phenomenal, including Edward Norton who is an essential part of this movie as he plays folk advocate and singer Pete Seeger. His wife, portrayed by Eriko Hatsune, a Japanese actress, is also very involved in the music industry, and helped put together the Newport Folk Festival, where we see Dylan perform several times.

Bob Dylan and Suze Rotolo in 1963

It wouldn’t make sense to talk about this movie without explicitly mentioning the amazing music that is played. Bob Dylan clearly has a long career full of successful albums and songs that are still relevant to this day. Among the hits from his beginnings, Timothée perfectly sings Mr Tambourine Man, Blowin’ in the wind, and more, but I don’t want to spoil them. Another aspect that the director James Mangold was able to excellently capture was the evolution of his music, from his folk origins to the transition to rock music.

Something else that we see in the movie are historic moments that shaped the U.S and the world during that decade, including the civil rights movement (which Bob Dylan and Sylvie strongly supported), the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the death of President Kennedy. Lastly, the costume design was carefully curated, aligning Bob Dylan’s evolving style with that particular moment in time, capturing the essence of his transformation.

“The answer my friend, is blowin’ in the wind” - Bob Dylan, Blowin’ in the wind

I wasn’t a fan of Bob Dylan before, but I now have a greater appreciation for his work; from his poetic lyrics, to the instrumentation and rhythm. If you still haven’t watched the film, I urge you to get your tickets as soon as possible and see for yourself the masterpiece that the cast and director created. Make sure to subscribe if you haven’t already and let me know in the comment section what movies you’ve recently watched! On se voit <3

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This week’s recommendation

This week, I highly recommend you subscribe to Claudia Sulewski’s YouTube channel. She is one of the OG youtubers and now posts monthly recaps that are extremely well edited. Claudia also has a skincare brand, Cyklar, and she shares glimpses of the work that goes behind each ad and the creation of new lines which I absolutely love.