Timothée Chalamet Is The Perfect Bob Dylan In A Complete Unknown
When it comes to playing the most famous singers of all time, there’s a heavy lift about getting the “iconic” nature and gestalt of that person as close to the nose as possible. These are people fans have spent decades (or lifetimes) with, meaning the biopic has to do them justice. It sure looks like that’s the case with Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan in the upcoming movie A Complete Unknown.
The first extended trailer for A Complete Unknown is out, giving us a look at Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan. While not a 1:1 looking-in-the-mirror vibe, which would have been nearly impossible because Dylan is so distinctive, Timothée Chalamet definitely pulls off the beats. And this movie looks like it could be headed toward some awards conversation already.
Check out Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan in the trailer for A Complete Unknown.
A Complete Unknown isn’t a full biopic in that we don’t go all the way back in time with Timothée Chalamet’s Bob Dylan, instead appearing to pick up sometime in the early 1960s when the iconic singer moved to New York City. This was the launchpad for his folk career, starting in 1961 when he played at venues in and around Greenwich Village.
A Complete Unknown is set from 1961-1965, starting with Bob Dylan coming to New York City and leading to the 1965 Newport Folk Festival
The Timothée Chalamet movie appears to run a timeline leading to 1965’s Newport Folk Festival, where Bob Dylan “controversially” played electric guitar with a backing band for the set. This was viewed in a negative light at the time, apparently against what many in the folk music scene saw as acceptable stylistically.
Timothée Chalamet’s character says as much in the trailer, lamenting that his fans and the industry just want him to play “Blowin’ in the Wind” for the rest of his life. While this musical theme appears something of the backdrop for A Complete Unknown, from this first trailer we see that it also a look at Bob Dylan’s life during this time.
Because he was climbing to superstardom, his life intersected with many other notable musical acts of the time. Along with Timothée Chalamet, we see Edward Norton as Pete Seeger, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, and Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash. Elle Fanning plays Sylvie Russo, Bob Dylan’s artist girlfriend, during this era.
Others include Scoot McNairy playing Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan’s musical idol who he moved to New York to visit when the former was in the Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital. Plus there are music executives like Dan Fogler as Albert Grossman, Norbert Leo Butz as Alan Lomax, and P.J. Byrne as Harold Leventhal.
A Complete Unknown is directed by James Mangold who helmed 2005’s Walk the Line about the life of Johnny Cash
A Complete Unknown is directed by James Mangold, who has done a number of great movies. But the most relevant comp here is 2005’s Walk the Line, starring Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash. That movie saw a Best Actor nomination for Phoenix and a Best Actress win for Reece Witherspoon, We could see something similar with Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan. Time will tell on that one.
A Complete Unknown releases in theaters on December 25, 2024
