Two remarkable talents fuel the movie “A Complete Unknown.”
One is Bob Dylan, the eternal enigma. The other is Timothee Chalamet, who doesn’t seem enigmatic at all; he’s simply in the Hanks/Streep/Newman mode, combining steep talent and hard work.
Now that pays off at the Golden Globes (8-11 p.m. ET Sunday, Jan. 5, on CBS). Of the six nominees for best motion picture drama, two – “Dune: Part 2” and “A Complete Unknown” – star Chalamet.
In the latter, he’s also nominated for best actor. This is the film where he becomes Dylan and, at 29, shows his range as an actor.
We knew Chalamet could sing. At New York’s performing arts high school (the “Fame” one), he starred in “Cabaret” and co-starred in “Sweet Charity.” In the delightful 2023 movie “Wonka,” he sang the lead role vibrantly.
But “A Complete Unknown” required more than singing well. He had to sing badly well.
Maybe not badly, but eccentrically. Dylan has always had a ragged voice, which Chalamet had to master. He also had to learn the guitar and harmonica; we can see why he started preparing for this five years ago.
Others also skillfully did their own singing and playing. Edward Norton became Pete Seeger; Monica Barbaro became Joan Baez.
Barbaro has done lots of TV, including great work in Netflix’s “FUBAR,” as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s deceptive daughter. Still, she’d given no hint that she can sing; then she captured the upper-range purity of Baez’s voice. One of the best moments has her link with Dylan on “Blowin’ in the Wind.”
But for Chalamet, there was much more: He had to capture Dylan’s personality, or lack thereof.
Because Dylan writes so well, we keep assuming other things. We expect he’s like Seeger and Baez – a fully formed human, with a rich set of interests.
That may be assuming too much. We got hints of that in “No Direction Home: Bob Dylan” (2005), Martin Scorsese’s brilliant PBS documentary:
— At protests or marches, people would ask: “Is Bob coming?” In truth, he basically skipped all of them.
— During a European tour, Baez came along. There, nearby, was one of the all-time great singers; it never occurred to him to invite her onstage.
This is a guy whose tunnel vision points to two things – writing songs and performing. In the movie when he shows up at Baez’s room late at night … then ignores her, starts writing and is perplexed when she throws him out.
Certainly, Dylan has had a non-music life. He had several colorful romances and two marriages. He has six children, including Jakob Dylan of the Grammy-winning Wallflowers. He’s done books – a memoir, a philosophy of songwriting, nine books of paintings and drawings.
But mostly, he keeps writing and singing. He’s had 57 albums. In 1988, he began what’s been dubbed “The Never Ending Tour”; he still on it at 83.
The rest, he just makes up to fit. His reality was unexceptional; he’d grown up as Robert Zimmerman in the coldest part of Minnesota, where his dad and uncles had a furniture and appliance store. Instead, he became Bob Dylan, with a foggy past involving cowboys and carnivals and such.
That puts a different light on the key part of the movie – stunning a folk festival by bringing an electrified sound.
In some views, this was a music revolution. But it was also just Dylan – doing what he felt like, without telling anyone what was coming.
That makes him a tricky guy to play – a deep well of music, with little else around him. He’s elusive and enigmatic, frustrating and fascinating. And Chalamet has captured him beautifully.
A perfect blend: Chalamet becomes Dylan
Two remarkable talents fuel the movie “A Complete Unknown.”
One is Bob Dylan, the eternal enigma. The other is Timothee Chalamet, who doesn’t seem enigmatic at all; he’s simply in the Hanks/Streep/Newman mode, combining steep talent and hard work.
Now that pays off at the Golden Globes (8-11 p.m. ET Sunday, Jan. 5, on CBS). Of the six nominees for best motion picture drama, two – “Dune: Part 2” and “A Complete Unknown” – star Chalamet.
In the latter, he’s also nominated for best actor. This is the film where he becomes Dylan and, at 29, shows his range as an actor. Read more…