A Complete Unkown

January 31 – February 6

7:00 pm nightly
1:30 Sunday Matinée
PG — 2 hr 17min
2024 ‧ Biography / Drama / Music

New York, 1961. Against the backdrop of a vibrant music scene and tumultuous cultural upheaval, an enigmatic 19-year-old from Minnesota arrives with his guitar and revolutionary talent, destined to change the course of American music. He forges intimate relationships with music icons of Greenwich Village on his meteoric rise, culminating in a ground-breaking and controversial performance that reverberates worldwide. Timothée Chalamet stars and sings as Bob Dylan in James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown, the electric true story behind the rise of one of the most iconic singer-songwriters in history. Eschewing the often-shallow approach of the cradle-to-the-grave biopic to tell a formative chapter in music and world history, Mangold’s film fluidly captures the intersection of art and fame with solid performances, unshowy direction, and organic editing. Dylan’s music had a lot to say in the early ’60s.

Several scenes subtly place Dylan’s art in a greater context to capture his importance. In one, as news clips of the Cuban Missile Crisis echo, Dylan plays “Masters of War” in a club. Imagine hearing the unapologetic lyrics of that song while potential Armageddon has practically emptied New York City of people, looking for somewhere that might be safer than Manhattan. It’s indicative of why Mangold’s film works overall—its effort to weave Dylan’s music into the fabric of the storytelling instead of just using it as a soundtrack.

Timothée Chalamet is ‘brilliant and believable’ as Dylan – Mangold’s approach demands a great deal of Mr. Chalamet, and he nails it. Not only does he sound like Dylan when he’s singing, he somehow captures the newness of these moments. When he plays “The Times They Are A-Changin’” for the first time in a great scene, it’s a song that a lot of people in the movie audience know by heart. Still, Chalamet and the production somehow convey the immediacy of that moment at Newport when these people are hearing a masterpiece for the first time. It gives the film an electricity that biopics almost always lack, feeling urgent instead of merely like a jukebox that’s been played a hundred times.

What A Complete Unknown shows brilliantly is the way that music in the right hands becomes a weapon. The galvanising power of The Times They Are a-Changin’, debuting before a crowd that spontaneously joins in with the chorus, is thrilling. Better still are the sweetly savage harmonies between Dylan and his former lover Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro, whose note-perfect performance is the film’s secret ingredient) as they trade the lines of It Ain’t Me Babe like bitter recriminations.

Director: James Mangold Starring: Timothée Chalamet (who also produces) stars as Dylan, with Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, Boyd Holbrook, Dan Fogler, Norbert Leo Butz, Eriko Hatsune, Big Bill Morganfield, Will Harrison, and Scoot McNairy in supporting roles.