Filmmakers changed the book title Dylan Goes Electric to A Complete Unknown following the tradition of using song lyrics for biopics about famous musicians. But altering the phrase works to summarize the movie: Chalamet goes electric with a dazzling performance…again. Still under thirty years old, Chalamet sparks into action as musician Bob Dylan, paralleling the singer by running an impressive list of incredible works for such a young person. In A Complete Unknown, the title description hardly ever fit Dylan, who achieved nearly instant success for songs like “Blowin’ in the Wind.” Similarly, at age 22 Chalamet earned early recognition with a best actor Oscar nomination for Call Me By Your Name, a project that showcased his musical skills with a piano. He turns those talents towards guitar, harmonica, and voice as Dylan, under direction by James Mangold. Mangold follows a path that worked well in his Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, bypassing dubbing and letting performers do their own vocals for a more raw and natural sound. Joining Jay Cocks to adapt Elijah Wald’s book, Mangold develops an easy-to-follow story that catapults Dylan from arrival in New York and a few minutes as a complete unknown before going on to a series of hits and relationships with such Sixties folk scene artists as Pete Seeger and Joan Baez. Johnny Cash makes an appearance, along with a re-named love interest played affectingly by Elle Fanning. Called Sylvie, her character represents just one example to upend fact checkers who care about complete accuracy, but she and other changes create dramatic storytelling elements to hold attention. The high point remains Chalamet’s spot on-performance, one that goes beyond vocal imitation to capture the essence of a difficult but brilliant talent.
