A Complete Unknown (2024, R)

I thought I was also going to get in I’m Still Here this week, but it just left my local theater, so this is the last film I’ll be seeing before the Oscars on Sunday. I thought this was a pretty solid musician biopic—the story is kind of thin, but the music performances are excellent, and I like the focus given to the 1960s folk scene as a whole.

What’s It About?

In the early 1960s, Bob Dylan comes to New York City and gets plugged into the local folk scene. He idolizes his music heroes, like Woodie Guthrie and Pete Seeger, but he also experiments and pushes the boundaries of the genre in ways not everyone is comfortable with. As Bob rises in prominence and develops a rocky relationship with fame, he refuses to make apologies for himself or his music.

Who’s in It?

Obviously, the film centers around Timothée Chalamet’s performance as Bob Dylan. He definitely delivers on the songs—there are a ton of great numbers in this movie! I’m less familiar with Bob Dylan in interviews/etc., but I assume Chalamet’s likeness is pretty spot-on. For me, though, it feels a little more like an impersonation than truly inhabiting the character, and as a result, some of Dylan’s own perspective feels lost within the story. But while it’s primarily Chalamet’s movie, he’s surrounded by a top-notch supporting cast. Edward Norton is terrific as folk purist Pete Seeger, and Elle Fanning does well with her role as Sylvie Russo, a frustrated romantic partner to the mercurial Bob. I’m not very familiar with Monica Barbaro, but she’s wonderful as Joan Baez. And we get two Narcos alumni, even though they were on different shows and don’t share any scenes in the film: I really enjoy Scoot McNairy as an ailing Woodie Guthrie, and Boyd Holbrook tears up his small role as Johnny Cash. I caught a number of Broadway folks in minor roles too, ranging from Dan Fogler to Norbert Leo Butz to Joshua Henry.

What’s It Nominated For?

A Complete Unknown was nominated for eight Oscars:

·        Best Picture

·        Best Leading Actor – Timothée Chalamet

·        Best Supporting Actor – Edward Norton

·        Best Supporting Actress – Monica Barbaro

·        Best Director

·        Best Adapted Screenplay

·        Best Costume Design

·        Best Sound

What Do I Love About It?

·        As I said, this is definitely The Bob Dylan Movie and Timothée Chalamet is at the center for the film, but I really like that the movie covers the whole landscape of the folk music scene at the time. We see how Bob and his music interact with the greats of the previous generation like Woodie Guthrie and Pete Seeger, seeing who embraces him and who urges caution in his exploration of the genre. We see his collaborations with Joan Baez and their tempestuous relationship. We see the letters he exchanges with Johnny Cash and how the two admire each other’s work. We see how folk brushes up against other styles of music, from fellow Americana genres like blues to the rise in rock ‘n’ roll.

·        To that end, I like seeing the politics on display among the folk artists. Literal politics, of course, like anti-war sentiment and support for the Civil Rights movement, and at the start of the film, Pete is appearing before a judge over backlash to “This Land is Your Land.” But there’s musical politics too, gatekeeping over what is or isn’t considered “real” folk music. While Bob experiments and incorporates new styles into his work, purists like Pete view folk as something that needs to be preserved and protected from the dangerous incursion of rock elements, and Bob comes to resent the fans who don’t want him to evolve and just want to hear him play “Blowin’ in the Wind” until the day he dies.

·        I really enjoy all the music performances. Yes, Chalamet is excellent, but all the actors playing the various musicians do a wonderful job here. Great work from everyone!

·        I have to make one more shoutout to Boyd Holbrook and Scoot McNairy. I realize the writing for their characters on Narcos and Narcos: Mexico didn’t do them any favors, and I was selling both of them short because of it. McNairy’s performance as Woody Guthrie makes me remember how good he was in Halt and Catch Fire. And Holbrook’s scenes as Johnny Cash are some of my favorites in the film—even though it’s a pretty small role, I feel like Holbrook has been “unlocked” for me now, and I get why his fans love him so much.

Warnings

Language, drinking/smoking/drug use, light sexual context, brief violence, and thematic elements.