I’ve said many times now that I’m a big fan of musical biopics in the past. It’s ad nauseum by now. I have to say once again that I’ve seen another fantastic musical biopic. A Complete Unknown is the latest musical biopic from a director, James Mangold, who’s no stranger to them. He directed Walk the Line, starring Joaquin Phoenix, about 20 or so years ago. Ironically enough, Johnny Cash is in this film as well. This is another crowning achievement for Mangold and especially for Timothee Chalamet as Bob Dylan,  the subject of this musical biopic.

Bob, or Bobby at times, (Timothee Chalamet) is a young man who comes to New York to see his childhood idol who is sick and in the hospital. After traveling around the city a bit he eventually meets him and plays “A Song to Woody” This is the moment that starts Dylan’s career as Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) another folk music singer-songwriter takes him under his wing and helps him with Guthrie’s blessing. He takes the folk music in New York City by storm and even catches the eye of a young Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro), who is very intrigued by him. She is not the only one. 

I’m a big fan of rock and roll music, but I tend to gravitate towards catchy songs that have a meaning to them no matter what genre they are from. Folk music is an offshoot of rock and roll or vice versa rather and I tend to like that kind of music and the artists that sing those kinds of songs, like James Taylor, Johnny Cash, and Bob Dylan. His songs “Blowin’ in the Wind, Mr. Tambourine Man, the title track, “A Complete Unknown” is derived from “Like a Rolling Stone”, “The Hurricane”, from the film and story about Rubin “Hurricane “ Carter, and “The Times They Are A Changin”. He just has a way with lyrics like no other singer-songwriter before or since him. Chalet singing his songs is transcendent. I was completely blown away by this performance. Chalamet is Academy Awards-worthy for this role.

Mangold double downed one specific thing in this movie that made it so good, and that is the music. The songs from not only Dylan, but also Baez, Cash, and others are the bedrock this film stands on. It’s similar in tone and feel to Inside Llewyn Davis, Bound For Glory in some senses, and the aforementioned Walk the Line. I came away with a greater appreciation for folk music than I had before. Which means Mangold, Chalamet, Norton, Barbaro, McNairy, and others did their jobs. 

The cast is a stellar one with those I already mentioned and a few I haven’t yet mentioned. Elle Fanning plays Sylvia, Dylan’s long-time girlfriend. She does a great job playing this woman who’s in a love-hate relationship at times with this American folk music idol. She can’t be number two in his life behind his music or another woman. Dan Fogler pops up as Albert Grossman, Dylan’s agent. He’s always a pleasant surprise when I see him show up in a cast. I loved him as Frances Ford Coppola in The Offer. He’s fine here as well. The performance that surprised me the most though was Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash. I almost didn’t recognize him though. He was terrific in this role played by Oscar-winning actor Joaquin Phoenix in Mangold’s other musical biopic “Walk the Line”. His interactions with Chalamet’s Dylan are fantastic. They had a pen pal-type situation going on which was funny in a way. This cast overall was very good, obviously with Chalamet, Norton, and Barbaro as the standouts.

With any movie that is set in a specific time in history, I am always interested in if the filmmaker can capture the era of the time. Regarding the production design,  costumes, hairstyling makeup. They are all done very well. I felt instantly sucked into the 1960s from the beginning of the film. Another tech that is well done is the sound. The music is a key to the story and all the songs are very well done. I heard them with great clarity. He had great sound in Ford v Ferrari as well. That is a standout as far as directorial decisions go. Mangold has learned from film to film what he can do to make the next movie he makes better than the last. Regarding technical things like these. They are key to making any movie even more watchable than they would otherwise be if these things weren’t done correctly. I was completely enamored with the cinematography as well by Phedon Papamichael. This film looked so good. Specifically, 60s New York and other places were brought to my life so well. I wanted to go there so badly while watching the biopic.

A Complete Unknown might be that for a lot of people who take a chance and go out to see this film. This is one of the best musical biopics I’ve seen in years. Chalamet as Dylan gives a transcendent performance, specifically when he’s singing songs, and playing the guitar/harmonica respectfully. The cast as a whole was stellar. Barbaro and Norton were also very good in this movie. The technical aspects were an improvement over Mangold’s last film. He learned from his mistakes last time out and got back to the filmmaker we know and love from Logan, Ford v Ferrari, and Walk the Line. This is comparable with Walk the Line in a lot of Ways. Both Phoenix and Chalamet gave great performances as these two music legends. I loved this musical biopic so much. Hopefully, audiences will come out over the holidays to see it and Chalamet’s incredible performances. Also awards voters need to nominate him every chance they can this season.

4 ½ stars

Dan Skip Allen