Chintan’s review of the biographical musical drama about the start of singer-songwriter Bob Dylan’s career
This will not be a formal review of the film ‘A Complete Unknown.’ It will be just an old Amerikan ranting about the days of his youth, and especially that magical period between 1962 and 1967. The film focuses mainly on Bob Dylan’s invasion of Greenwich Village, located in the bowels of New York City, and his three appearances at the Newport Folk Festival held in neighboring Newport, Rhode Island, USA.
In 1963 he was the shy, mumbling side-kick to the Queen of Folk, Joan Baez. He was on the verge of stardom, but still relatively unknown amongst the folkies.
A year later at Newport, he was the dominant force for that extraordinary event, and the girls were going wild. His albums were topping the charts and pushing the boundaries of what was labeled folk music. He was a charming lad, and totally tuned in to the political movements of the day. He had written many of the anthems of the Civil Rights Movement and the Anti-Vietnam War Movement. He was like a God in shabby clothing; a baby-faced assassin taking on the Amerikan government. His tunes, Masters of War, Only a Pawn in their Game, Oxford Town, Ballad of Hollis Brown, Blowing in the Wind, The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll, and a dozen others were powerful indictments of the establishment ‘squares.’
A year later, in 1965, he picked up an electric guitar, discovered the mind- blowing world of psychedelic drugs, began jamming with musicians who knew no boundaries, and was streaming a new music that had yet to be defined or labeled. Emotionally he was raw, angry, and totally fed up with the trappings of fame and identity. He pointed his guitar at the assembled masses and used it like a tomey-gun. Many applauded, many did not! The chorus of boos became like a badge of honor for him as he toured the world in the coming months. As audiences in the US and Britain yelled out “Traitor,” Dylan turned to his band and said, “Play lowder!”
Timothee Chalamet, the actor portraying Dylan, nailed the performance. It was more than a performance. He became Dylan. As I sat in the Hebden Bridge movie theater, huddled with hundreds of Septuagenarians and Octogenarians and a few middle-aged ‘youngsters’, I was lost in the moment. It was no longer 2025. I was back in that time, feeling the emotions of that time, and so happy that the actor didn’t fuck it up.
Timothee was picture-perfect!
And he could sing.
And so could the actors playing Pete Seeger and Joan Baez.
I saw Bob Dylan thrice in concert, never in the early years, but even in 1986, 1992 and 2001 it was a totally religious experience. I never caught one of Joan’s performances, but have followed her political adventures feeling so much love and respect for her.
Pete Seeger was close by when I lived in the Hudson Valley of New York back in the 1970s. I had the pleasure of seeing him perform numerous times and even got to talk with him on one memorable occasion. And, when I was living in New York City in the 1980s, Greenwich Village was my favorite place to hang out. I walked those streets, ate in the restaurants, drank in the bars, and visited all the places depicted in the film.
So, there is no way I can be objective about the film. The film took me back there. Now, two days later, I feel I’m still there. I’ve played Dylan’s 2nd and 3rd albums cover to cover, and perhaps today I’ll dig out Highway 61 and play that one through.
An aspect of the film which may be lost on many is the character of Woody Guthrie. During the time period of this film he was suffering from a neurological disease, not understood at the time, and was therefore confined to a psychiatric hospital in New Jersey, across the river from Greenwich Village. He was Dylan’s greatest influence.
Dylan once stated that to listen to a Woody Guthrie song was to learn how to live. Pete Seeger referred to the young musicians gathered in Greenwich Village in the 60s (Tom Paxton, Mary Travers, Phil Ochs, Dave Van Ronk, Peter Yarrow, Noel Stookey) as Woody’s Children. On Woody’s guitar were inscribed the words, This Machine Kills Fascists. Throughout the film Dylan honors his mentor, first by copying his presentation and then by creating poetry that rose to a level way beyond Woody and Pete.
The disciple had become the master.
One thing they had in common was the fight against the creeping Fascism that was infecting the freedom that America aspired to in those days. (Amerika could use a new Dylan or Guthrie or Seeger in this moment as the Fascists dance their death dance!)
Any criticisms I have of the film are too insignificant to list here. The direction was flawless. It flowed from scene to scene. The director managed to get out of the way and let the actors act. There was very little cutting away, hardly any choppiness. Especially with the music scenes I had the feeling of being there in the audience, watching an open and vulnerable musician, not relying on pyrotechnics.
In conclusion, go see the film, bring a hanky, and be prepared to clap your hands when the curtain comes down.
A Complete Unknown
Directed by James Mangold
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, Boyd Holbrook, Norbert Leo Butz, Dan Fogler, and Scoot McNairy
December 2024 – imdb.com
Official Teaser: youtu.be
Official Trailer: youtu.be
Featured image: Edward Norton and Timothée Chalamet (Macall Polay / Searchlight Pictures)
Related article
- Bob Dylan and the Bauls – Singer-songwriter Bob Dylan turns eighty today – a moment to remember that Osho once mentioned one of his albums – by Radhika
Comments are closed.