A Complete Unknown Movie Review

A Complete Unknown (2024)

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Written by: James Mangold and Jay Cocks (screenplay by), Elijah Wald (based on the book 'Dylan Goes Electric' by)
Directed by: Alex Kurtzman
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, Boyd Holbrook, Scoot McNairy
Rated: R
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Plot
In 1961, an unknown 19-year-old Bob Dylan arrives in New York City with his guitar and forges relationships with musical icons on his meteoric rise, culminating in a groundbreaking performance that reverberates around the world.

Verdict
I enjoyed the history and the music, even if I don't know much about the folk genre, but this is empty. We see the people, even some influences, but Dylan remains an enigma as he pushes against the walls of labels, managers, and even fans. I appreciate that this focuses on a narrow duration of time, preventing it from feeling like an outline of his life. Despite that, I don't know what drives him. I get he wants to create and is influenced by political events, but why does he create an adversarial relationship with fans? Aside from the first few scenes, I never felt like I got any insight into Dylan.
It depends.

Review
I can't watch this and not think about Inside Llewyn Davis. It's one of my favorite movies; an artist chasing a dream that's always out of reach. It's could be a companion to this movie, Davis being a folk music artist that was just too early. His last performance before he quit was just ahead of a new, unknown artist, Bob Dylan.

Bobby Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) makes a trip to New York to see his musical idol Wayne Guthrie (Scoot McNairy). He wants to meet the man that inspired him, and this provides the audience insight into his early influences. Wayne and Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) are both impressed with the young Dylan's ability.

Edward Norton, Timothée Chalamet play Pete Seeger Bobby Dylan

Dylan gets a contract, but the label wants him to record covers of classic songs while he longs to record his own music. The album flails. When he gets the chance to record his own music, the album propels him to fame. It's fun to see Dylan's music and it's origins. As I'm largely unfamiliar with folk music, I had to look up side characters and their accomplishments.

We're introduced to this talented kid who becomes famous, but what's his underlying motivation? I assume he starts wearing sunglasses all the time to avoid recognition, not that it does a lot of good. Why travel to New York for music and seek a record contract if you don't want fame? He's portrayed as a creative that wants to make and play new music while the managers and stalwarts of the genre try to stop him indirectly at every turn. The label wants him to play covers. Seeger sees him as a way to boost folk music appeal, but Dylan starts playing the electric guitar, undermining the very genre. In folk music, you don't play an electric guitar. At a concert Dylan walks off stage, refusing to play his most famous songs. Dylan has an adversarial relationship with fans, and I wasn't sure why. Sure he has a desire to keep innovating, but the fans are the reason he has the freedom to keep making a living in the industry. Dylan spurns the fans that made him famous.

Timothée Chalamet plays Bobby Dylan

Dylan has always fought to prevent being boxed in. Seeger wants Dylan to boost folk music, but Dylan just wants to create. Everyone else wanted to label it folk, he just wanted to write songs. What's odd is that Dylan goes to the Newport music festival where people attend specifically for folk music. Dylan refuses to provide that. If he doesn't want to play the music people paid to see, why attend? Is it just to rile people? Playing an electric guitar at a folk music festival upsets everyone. The fans want to see who he's been, not who he wants to be. That might be the thread running through this movie.  While that irritates Dylan, fans are why he's famous. It's a symbiotic relationship. You need the fans to reach a threshold of fame and fortune. Dylan spurns them once he reaches that point, but I don't know if that is mostly a fiction to create the enigmatic and mysterious Dylan. The only reason we're provided for why he riles people up is Johnny Cash (Boyd Holbrook) telling him to track mud on the carpet. It seems more like the movie grasping at straws than an underlying character motivation. Outside of this movie he's had a long and successful career.