Movie Review: A Complete Unknown
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2p2RYSQyDqNe458IDJnQGz?si=n0e0yBsVRq6WqHnoNmOFXQ
Since Walk The Line came out in 2005, the marketplace has been overrun with biopics about musicians. There have been some good, some serviceable, but mostly forgettable at best. Now, James Mangold makes his triumphant return to the genre to show everyone how it's done and the movie is one of the better versions of the biopic about musicians in the past decade.
The real success of the film comes from the performances, as one should expect from a Mangold film. While the film is essentially the closing argument for Timothee Chalamet to win an Oscar, Edward Norton, Monica Barbaro, and Boyd Holbrook also all put on acting clinics. The strength in this movie comes from the ability of the cast to embody the people they're playing without feeling like they're doing cheap imitations. It's more about the spirit of the person than the mannerisms (I'm not familiar with Bob Dylan as a person so I'm not sure how accurately all of that is for Chalamet's performance).
The other real success of the film is the way it shapes the narrative around a key part of Dylan's identity rather than doing a straight, almost book report-style, recounting of his life. I'm not entirely sure because I'm not a Dylan scholar, but the film understands that the most important parts of Dylan's life are his activism and his desire to not be forced to work in a way he did not want to. He marched to the beat of his own drum so, while the music festival where he goes out on stage and performs with an electric guitar may not be the defining moment of his life, it is the quintessential moment that defines who he is.
Check out A Complete Unknown in theaters, especially because the third act will inherently lose something if you watch it on Disney+ or Hulu. It's clearly mixed for viewership in a theater and the ability to turn down the volume will take away something from the experience.
Side note: Is the DOJ going to bring charges against Ariana DeBose's agent at some point? The quality of the film she's been in since winning a literal Oscar in her first theatrically released movie is nothing short of criminal.
★★★★★
A Complete Unknown
Directed By: James Mangold
Written By: James Mangold
Starring: Timothee Chalamet, Monica Barbaro, Elle Fanning, Boyd Holbrook, Edward Norton
Rating: R
Release Date: December 25th, 2024
