Actor Timothée Chalamet successfully takes on the role of young Bob Dylan in the docudrama A Complete Unknown.
The biopic follows young Bob Dylan as he arrives in New York City with nothing but his guitar and passion for music. As his talent is quickly discovered, he starts with small gigs in underground folks clubs and works his way up to performing at the Newport Folk Festival and touring with rising folk singer Joan Baez.
The film does a fantastic job of showing Dylan’s life progress without dragging one section of his career on for too long, keeping the viewers interested. This also makes it easy to follow the storyline, allowing anyone to understand and enjoy the film, even with no previous knowledge of Bob Dylan.
Though Chalamet looks nearly identical to Dylan in his 20s, he was ultimately picked for the role because of his acting skills and dedication. Chalamet worked with a vocal and guitar teacher so that he could legitimately sing and play the guitar throughout the whole film.
A major plot in the film is Dylan’s love triangle with Baez and first serious girlfriend Sylvie Russo, whose character is based on Suze Rotolo, one of Dylan’s real-life girlfriends. This situation highlights Dylan’s rising ego.
A turning point in the film is when Dylan wants to branch off from the traditional folk style and go electric. This causes mayhem for the music industry and his fans, as they are tied to traditional folk music because of the activist messages that were relevant to this era of the civil rights movement. Despite the backlash, Dylan closes the 1965 Newport Folk Festival playing the electric guitar, right on par with Dylan’s hard-headed personality.
Overall, A Complete Unknown tells the story of Bob Dylan’s rising career in the 1960s, showing how he can be both humble and compassionate, as well as arrogant and careless. But nonetheless, the film highlights Dylan’s creativity and musical talent, making this a great watch for music lovers, Timothée Chalamet fans, and of course Bob Dylan enthusiasts.
