A Complete Unknown * * * *

I'm going back to New York City, I do believe I've had enough.

When I was in my youth I was a huge Bob Dylan fan.

I'd come to know Bob Dylan after he turned electric so he never was a "Judas" to me.  The first Dylan album I bought was Highway 61 Revisited and I bought it because I loved the rock sound - along with the metaphysical lyrics.

After hearing that album I worked backward to his beginning and and also learned to appreciate his early pure folk albums. 

A Complete Unknown deals with  the first four years of  Bob Dylan's career and is quite meticulous and close to the events. So much so that I wonder where the appeal would be to those that are not familiar with him. I mean, its just an accurate re-telling of his progress, and other than him two-timing on his girlfriend with Joan Baez you never feel there is much at stake. Incidentally, by her families request, his girlfriend has been renamed for this film.  

The other significant characters of Joan Baez, Albert Grossman, Bob Neuwirth and Pete Seeger and Johnny Cash are well cast along with prominent session musos such as Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper.

For those that  have read some of the many biographies of  Bob Dylan you'll find it fairly accurate. And talking of accuracy A Complete Unknown is a wonderful recreation of time and place. You'd swear it really was New York early 1960's.  

With his looks Timothee Chalamet is an excellent choice for the lead role and he does good!  Looks like Bob Dylan (albeit more handsome) and he sounds like him.  

Like Renee Zellweger in Judy, and Marisa Abela in Back to Black, Chalamet plays and sings too.  There is no dubbing or cutting away for the guitar and harmonica - it's Chalamet doing the whole thing, and his imitation of Dylan's unique voice is near perfect.

The film skips Bob Dylan's childhood and school days, commencing with his arrival in New York in 1961 and seeking out of his hero Woody Guthrie, who at this stage was on his deathbed.

Bob Dylan's career was very quickly on an upward trajectory because, quite simply, he was hugely talented. In the folk clubs of Greenwich Village and other hip areas, established acts like Joan Baez and Pete Seeger were happy to have him on the same bill as themselves and they were soon covering his songs, thus elevating his fame. 

It's amazing to think that in five years he evolved from a folk singing kid writing protest songs to a rock star on par with The Beatles, writing metaphysical lyrics which reflect the inner voices, but he did and the film captures the trajectory well.

The smoky folk clubs with their "oh so serious" attitude is well captured along with their anti-establishment humanitarianism. A folk singer is approachable.  One of the people. Salt of the earth and all that. A famous rock star not so much so, and that is what Dylan quickly became much to the chagrin and confusion of his early folky followers.

It's written and directed by James Mangold who gave us the excellent biopic of Johnny Cash (Walk The Line), twenty years ago. 

Whether you're familiar with Bob Dylan or not, A Complete Unknown is an enjoyable and highly informative ride.