In a world where musicians, modern or past, can't help but have a movie biopic made about their life story, James Mangold's 'A Complete Unknown' is an intriguing and hopeful addition to a genre that has been extremely overworked in recent years.
As someone who had next to no interest in a small artist who goes by the name of Bob Dylan, as well as no recollection of any of his music, I for one found myself intrigued by his story and how he became one of the most influential artists in the history of the musical industry.
If the intention was to spread awareness of Dylan and his music to those who have fallen ignorant to the work he produced throughout the 60's and 70's was at the top of James Mangold's priority list, then it goes without saying that the filmmaker deserves his flowers in this scenario.
Whilst the 'musical biopic' sub-genre has worked an undesirable amount of overtime over the past 7-8 years, there are few people who are able to turn the tides a completely different direction, even when all hope seems lost, but James Mangold is certainly one of them.
We have almost seen it all this past decade: Queen, Elton John, Bob Marley, Amy Winehouse, Tina Turner, Elvis. Some of which we were provided with just in the last twelve months, never mind going back almost ten years. And when the news came around that we would see a live-action take on the story of Bob Dylan and the switch he made from folk music to electric, people weren't all that interested.
But it simply can not go left unsaid that James Mangold and all involved do an excellent job at pumping some life back into the 'musical biopic' sub-genre, and inspire a whole generation of film lovers with the story of how Bob Dylan came to be.
Before this film we had seen Timothée Chalamet come face to face against the evil intentions of the Harkonnen family in 'Dune', take over the chocolate making world as a young Willy Wonka, and even become a lost-cause meth addict in 2018's 'Beautiful Boy', but now the actor braves the role of a lifetime in portraying a young Bob Dylan throughout his rise to fame in the mid to late 1960's.
And whilst these films that belong to the sub-genre of 'musical biopics' have become slightly overworked and uninteresting, they do tend to possess an exceptional lead performance at their forefront, and James Mangold's 'A Complete Unknown' is certainly no different.
Chalamet undoubtedly provides us with not only one of the best performances of the year with his portrayal of the iconic artist, but also one of the best performances of his acting career so far, placing himself in a strong position to become the youngest ever Best Actor winner at the Academy Awards on March 2nd.
From the simple mannerisms that Bob Dylan possesses, all the way to the unique singing voice and presence on stage, Chalamet completely nails it. Once again proving his worth as one of the best, if not the best, young actors of this generation.
Chalamet is also joined by an impressive supporting cast who elevate the film to a much higher level than what it would've been without. Monica Barbaro, Edward Norton and Elle Fanning are all strong in their respective roles, without stealing too much of the spot light from Dylan himself.
Whilst the film itself is entertaining and has you constantly interested throughout, what does become a little mixed is the portrayal of Bob Dylan that the story is attempting to convey. Whilst he is an extremely talented artist who worked very hard throughout the 60's to become who he is today, there are several moments throughout the film that leaves you thinking: "What an asshole!"
And whilst we will never know what Mr Dylan himself thinks of how he is portrayed in the film, audiences can be left with a mixed opinion on the artist and the way he went about his way during his rise to fame. Talented? Yes. Great performer? Yes. Great person? Maybe not.
Regardless of how Mangold is attempting to portray Bob Dylan in this film, it is very clear to see the overall message that he is stating with this story. The most prominent of them being the idea that one can not allow people to control one's lifestyle to the point where it makes them unhappy. Throughout his historic switch from folk music to electric, a lot of people tried to control Dylan's decisions and lead him one way or the other.
But the artist's reluctancy to be told what to do or be controlled, regardless of how much he is being paid or how many people chant his name in unison, is what has formed one of the most iconic musical artists of all time.
PrimeTime Films Score: B-
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