'A Complete Unknown' is definitely worth knowing
Timothée Chalamet stars in Bob Dylan bio-pic
"A Complete Unknown" is a great biographical movie about the monumentally talented Bob Dylan.
The movie stars Timothée Chalamet as the folk-singer, as he works his way through life as a drifter until he comes across Pete Seeger, played by Edward Norton ("Fight Club," "Red Dragon," "Incredible Hulk") while visiting famous folk-singer and songwriter Woody Guthrie in the hospital. There, Pete and Bob form an unbreakable friendship and some world-shaking careers that changed music forever.
This is a great movie for people who are trying to get into Bob Dylan's music. I, myself, was very new to him until a couple years ago, when I started listening to more of his music.
Chalamet does an impressively great job mimicking Bob Dylan's voice and demeanor. He gets so lost in the role that I forgot I was watching someone act.
Edward Norton did a great job as the soft-spoken Seeger. I loved his positivity and how it contrasted with Dylan's cynicism and melancholy emotions. Norton portrayed him with lots of charisma and charm.
James Mangold's directing is outstanding in this movie. His attention to detail is at its finest here, and his ability to take the viewer through time is mindboggoling.
This movie takes place during the early '60s, and Mangold makes sure to include details from that time period, such as broadcasts from JFK and signs detailing the fear of Communism.
This movie doesn't have many flaws I can point out, but I had some criticisms that were personally bugging me.
Dylan is portrayed as a narcissist who cheats on his girlfriends several times throughout the movie. It made it hard for me to root for him; his indecisiveness leads to his heartbreak, and I felt nothing when it happened. I wasn't sure what Mangold's point was with the romantic subplot, but I'm sure someone with a wider knowledge of Dylan can clue me in.
Mangold delivers another great movie. I'd give it a solid 8/10 and highly encourage music enthusiasts to see this fine tune of a film!
