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Some people are just an enigma. To impossible to ever understand no matter how much of themselves they give to us. There was a time when the world didn’t have Bob Dylan and then one day he, like the song says, just blew in with the wind. Dylan, not only one of the most influential artists to this day is someone that didn’t change with the times but rather forced the times to change. A man who can be described simply as a carnival of confusion and creativity came to us in a time where the not just the world was shifting but more so a community of artists were slowly dying. Folk music and specifically the New York Greenwich folk scene was on its last breath when Dylan arrived although false memory has people believing he redefined it. However two already great Dylan movies, “Inside Llewyn Davis” and “I’m Not There” can tell you otherwise. And yet even with these films the world should always welcome new Dylan works simply because the man himself cannot be tied down to one story so why not try to tell them all in many different forms. James Mangold’s A COMPLETE UNKNOWN may hint at the traditional biopic but instead is a film focused on a specific moment in time and above all that a testament to how far a song can carry change. Mangold a thunderous director in any genre whether it be comic book (Logan) or the automotive world (Ford v Ferrari) the man always carries himself in an old school fashion that feels like the more intelligent big studio adult blockbusters lacking today. A COMPLETE UNKNOWN also holds its biggest weapon right in your face with a young performer who has hit a level of stardom not seen since the early days of DiCaprio. Timothée Chalamet doesn’t get his crowning moment with UNKNOWN but rather brings his immense dedication and talents to an already larger than life story. And yet even with al this the story of Bob Dylan can never be complete (the man himself is still pumping out CDs of all musical experimentations) but what A COMPELETE UNKNOWN can and does do is show that when change is a coming sometimes we should rely on the artists no matter how much they switch things up.

It’s 1961 Greenwich New York and Bob Dylan (Chalamet) wants to meet Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy). The only problem is Woody is slowly dying in a hospital in New Jersey. Wanting to be a folk singer inspired by Woody, Dylan with his shaggy spiked up and baggy ripped clothes is introduced to Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) when visiting Guthrie. From the moment Chalamet enters the screen there are already so many questions, portraying Dylan is no easy task and yet Chalamet is able to keep that soft spoken attitude while also keeping everyone at arm’s length. Seeger a kind hearted folk singer with troubles of his own (he is in court for performing the controversial song, wait for it…”This Land is Your Land). Seeger quickly sees the talents of Dylan and specifically his ability to write a song that is a kaleidoscope of lyrics that would intimidate any thesaurus carrier. A COMPLETE UNKNOWN doesn’t spend time with the usual step by step watching Dylan break out into stardom but rather uses this scene between Dylan and his new found friends and old heroes to show that talent recognizes talent and in the world of folk music that is all you need. And yet Chalamet with little words is able to convey that even he knows he is entering a world that is on its last breath. Mangold as a filmmaker knows the innovative genius of Dylan and while keeping him in the folk scene for the first half of a two and a half hour film is still recognizing that the wheels in his head are always turning.

Bob Dylan is an asshole and thankfully A COMPLETE UNKNOWN doesn’t let us forget it. When Dylan enters the room people seem to be drawn to him. Never an ugly man in real life the film does have some fun liberties with never ignoring the fact that the biggest heartthrob this side of Teen Beat is playing the musician. It’s impossible to see Chalamet and not be won over, it’s the glances the slight smiles and of course the talent of both an actor and a singer. Chalamet openly speaking about not knowing the guitar or harmonica beforehand just makes you all the madder that you aren’t this level of cool. Even if its performative it’s hard to not be won over. But for Chalamet as Dylan he catches the eye of political activist Sylvie Russo (Sylvie Rotolo in real life and portrayed by Elle Fanning) and the two bounce well off one another with Fanning lifting a role that is often reduced to nothing but tears. Her activism being another inspiration to a side of Dylan we eventually see. Mangold uses this activist behavior as a way to bring us into the real life tension occurring at the time specifically the Cuban missile crisis. With cinematographer Phedon Papamichael, Mangold is able to bring a balance of darkness and sunny New York days with such ease that it feels as cinematic as it does natural. There are no complaints here about a studio film being lit too poorly as Papamichael makes great use of digital Panavision as well as the occasional split diopter. And to go along with the sight the sound of  A COMPLETE UNKNOWN practically throws you into the middle of a concert even when the songs are not being performed. The film’s sound team has designed and has created an atmosphere that is in full respect of not just the talents of the musicians but also the audience willing to listen to them. When Dylan meets and starts an affair with folk singer Joan Baez (a terrific Monica Barbaro) their scenes of intimacy are on the grand scale level performing in world tours together allowing their voices and especially Barbaro’s to sink right into you as she performs “Girl from the North Country.”

But even with all the technical excitement of A COMPLETE UNKNOWN is most indebted to the notion that of change and the fear of it all. Many know one of the most pivotal moments in music history is when Dylan went electric. Turning away from the acoustic folk songs everyone wanted from him Dylan blared out an electric guitar and full rock band at the Newport Folk Festival (side note these scenes were shot in beautiful Cape May NJ and with Papamichael’s cinematography look even more lovely than usual) much to the anger of his audience and the people running the festival including Pete Seeger. The film uses it as its climatic moment and shows what a shock it was to its audience some even calling him “Judas.” But A COMPLETE UNKNOWN lets us know early on a change has always been on its way, it’s a film that loves the folk world but never excuses it from criticism. Norton as Seeger is both heartbreaking and frustrating as a man too scared to see the good that can come from this specific change all while being a strong activist himself (and up to the day he died in 2014). Meanwhile there is Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash (doing more with ten minutes than Joaquin Phoenix did with two hours) that recognizes, as a renegade himself, that change needs to happen. You need to piss people off while also still finding ways to comfort them. But Chalamet has Dylan may turn off die hard fans looking for the doe eyed “Call Me By Your Name” kid but instead Chalamet is able to bring such a anger to Dylan in knowing that if you don’t give people something new then the world never evolves. Even if it appears Dylan only cares about himself (he doesn’t) this is still a man trying to give back to many. Mangold understands this throughout even if like the audience isn’t going to just let him skate on by.

Oblige me if you will but this film cannot be fully reviewed without simply asking, is this an accurate portrayal of Bob Dylan. Well to answer that and to close up this review you have to start with asking yourself who is Bob Dylan to you. Which version of the man do you want? The folk singer? The protestor? The prophet? The rockstar? The rambler? The tweeter? The controversial religious educator? All of this blends even if the film only follows four years. We know where the story goes from here, the film itself ends on a controversial moment in Dylan’s life involving a serious motorcycle accident that for Dylan heads has been a topic of debate for years. We know Dylan’s controversial switch to electric changed the world for the better, “Like a Rolling Stone” is still considered one of the greatest songs ever recorded (although a true Dylan fan knows it wouldn’t be until 1989’s “Most of the Time” that he wrote his greatest tune). But perhaps the answer is unanswerable or maybe we just need to ask Bob Dylan expert aka SNL’s James Austin Johnson (who has a hysterical cameo made solely for us Dylan freaks). Either way it can be said that A COMPLETE UNKNOWN is a Dylan film for those that understand him and for those that have absolutely no clue what he is rambling apart. And true Dylan fans will tell you it goes hand and hand. Mangold has his titular character enter as a complete unknown and by the time those final frames pass through he is just as unknown. This isn’t the sign of a bad film but rather a great one that knows some people cannot be explained so its easily to let them ramble on.

A

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN WILL BE RELEASED IN THEATERS FROM SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES ON DECEMBER 25