2024 – A Complete Unknown
Well, it seems to be the trend in recent years to make biopic films about talented musicians, and the critics are just loving them. And while this very specific genre is certainly not new, it gained huge popularity after the success of Bohemian Rhapsody. But then we got other movies like Rocketman, Elvis, and Bob Marley: One Love. It is definitely a trend. But let me just say, I’ve never been a huge fan of Bob Dylan’s music. It’s his voice. He was never a very good singer. But apparently, he was an incredibly talented poet and songwriter.
I don’t mind that there was a biopic made about this small portion of his career. But I think this movie failed on a couple of levels. For example, it wasn’t able to convince me that his music was overly special or influential. And it only gave me a snapshot of a relatively short period in his long and prolific career. What I mean is, if I wanted to know anything about Bob Dylan at all, I wanted to know more than this movie gave me. What I was left with were insights into his love life, and the sense that even though he had major talent as an artist, he was kind of a jerk, something that is mentioned more than once. It didn’t give me sympathy for the character. It just made me want him to be nicer to those who loved him. You see, I did a tiny bit of reading and discovered that the real Dylan is one of the best selling musicians of all time, but the movie never let the audience in on that bit of information, either through story or dialogue.
But I guess the acting was alright. Timothy Chalamet, who was also in another Best Picture nominee in 2024, Dune II, starred as Bob Dylan. Was Bob consistently stoned from 1960 to 1965? Because that’s how Chalamet portrayed him. My research says no. But there were three other actors who I liked better. First was Edward Norton playing Pete Seeger. Second was Elle Fanning playing Bob’s long time love interest, Sylvie Russo. She was particularly good. And the third was Monica Barbaro playing Joan Baez. And I’ll give an honorable mention to Dan Folger as Albert Grossman, and Norbert Leo Butz as Alan Lomax.
But I don’t want it to sound like I thought the movie wasn’t good. It was good enough. I just didn’t get the movie I was expecting or wanting. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth watching. It just means that I need to check my expectations at the door and enjoy it for what it was. I liked that it was a period piece that took place in the 60s. The costumes and the hairstyles were all appropriate, reflecting the styles of the early decade.
And then there was the music. Chalamet apparently sang forty Bob Dylan songs in the movie, and here is where I really have to give him his due. I mentioned that I don’t particularly care for Dylan’s voice. And to his credit, Chalamet imitated it incredibly well. Many of the Dylan songs he sang were only tiny snippets, some without instruments, and in some he was practically mumbling as the character was writing the music. But they were there. But the few songs that he sang as part of a performance were a spot on match to the real Bob Dylan’s cadence and style.
However, Monica Barbaro was the voice that impressed me the most. She really has a great singing voice and I enjoyed listening to her. You can tell she’s had some training. She sounded good whether she was singing a Baez song as a solo, or if she was doing a duet with Dylan. There were also a few scenes with Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash, and he did a pretty good imitation as well. And also, I was impressed with Edward Norton. Who knew he was more than just a good actor. He sang a bit and sounded good doing it.
There were a lot of little moments in the movie that were good. True, I found the overall pacing slow, and I didn’t really have much interest in the subject matter as it was presented. But there were moments where my interest was held. There are two that spring to mind. One was the moment in which Chalamet sang Song to Woody for Seeger and his idol Woody Guthrie, played by Scoot McNairy. The actor actually played the guitar himself and sang the entire song. Chalamet did a fine job and sounded very much like Bob Dylan.
The other scene that grabbed my attention was the one where Dylan races to the dock where Sylvie is leaving him for the last time. He has tried to invite her back into his life, but she tells him “It was fun to be on the carnival train with you, Bobby, but I think I gotta step off. I feel like one of those plates, you know, that the French guy spins on those sticks on the Sullivan show.” He replies “Oh, I like that guy.” And I love what she says in response. “I’m sure it’s fun to be the guy, Bob. But I was a plate.” And Elle Fanning really sold the moment. She did a fantastic job. And so the trend continues. More musician biopics are being made, but if you aren’t into that musician or the music they made, a film about them is really going to have to work to make you interested in their story. And while the movie had its good points, I was mostly uninterested, and the movie didn’t do enough to make me want more. But what do I know? Critics loved it.