Celebrating Bob Dylan In “A Complete Unknown”
Based on the book Dylan Goes Electric! by Elijah Wald, director James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown celebrates Bob Dylan’s modest beginnings. The film follows the mild-mannered, reticent Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) as he arrives in New York with nothing except his belongings and a prodigious talent for music. When Bob Dylan visits his childhood hero, Woody Guthrie, in the hospital, Dylan demonstrates his musical prowess impressing both Guthrie and his friend Pete Seeger (Edward Norton). Soon enough, Bob Dylan’s unorthodox voice and personality propels him to the forefront, rapidly growing his celebrity and notoriety at the same time.
Calling the 60s “a decade of extraordinary events” grossly underrepresents the era. As global superpowers flirted with the possibility of another world war, a profound sense of nihilism brewed in the background. This disillusionment paved the way for the emergence of influential and dissenting artists in the music world. While Beatlemania and The Elvis Phenomenon became yardsticks to quantify musical success, anti-war voices equally accrued a growing, mainstream audience. Among these, Dylan’s “raspy and nasal” stood out as the most prominent.
“A Complete Unknown” And Its Lasting Impact
During the course, Mangold repeatedly underscores the fact that Bob Dylan’s proclivity for rebellion and dissent isn’t performative. The lyrics are rarely subliminal and like Dylan’s personality, the words ache to be noticed. For example, in “The Times They Are A-Changin,” Dylan asks to quell dogmatic thinking while articulating the horrors of war. The song becomes a leitmotif in the plot for Bob Dylan’s individualism and the upheaval around him. Dylan’s appetite for blunt truths and erratic behaviors are jarring for the layperson, but as the plot pans out, we learn that there is indeed, a method to this madness. The now famous harmonica harness offers Dylan leeway to exhibit his rumored ambidexterity. The odd noise from a police whistle became the sound of caution and control in “Highway 61 Revisited.” His use of electronic instruments, well, changed the course of musical history.
The film goes beyond the confines of a biopic; it celebrates Bob Dylan, not just as an artist but as a philosophy. His “protest songs” aren’t catchy slogans, but introspective pieces that demand attention and warrant discussion. Though Dylan’s partners and peers are frustrated with his opinions and actions, they cannot help but appreciate the wunderkind. Throughout A Complete Unknown, Mangold pays homage to the tumult of the times and Bob Dylan’s musical canon. Chalamet’s embodies the spirit of Dylan and plays him with twin like precision. It would be remiss to not mention Edward Norton’s performance as Seeger. He plays the father figure to Dylan with empathy and awe.
Mangold and Chalamet Wrap Up The Award Season
Having generated a significant buzz during the awards season, A Complete Unknown wrapped up its campaign after receiving widespread applause and accolades. Though the film was nominated for eight Academy Awards including Chalamet’s accomplishment as a two-time nominee, it did not secure any wins during the star studded night.
A Complete Unknown is now available to stream on VOD.
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