"A Complete Unknown" was so well put together that we had to see it a second time just to be sure it wasn't a fluke that we loved it so much. Never have been a big fan of Bob Dylan's voice and mostly like his songs sung by other artists such as The Byrds, Jimi Hendrix, The Grass Roots and The Turtles but that's not meant to negate Dylan's obvious talent for word crafting.
"A Complete Unknown" was perfect in every way: direction, acting, music, sound and cinematic and is a thumbnail sketch of Dylan's early years. Mercifully we were spared seeing his motorcycle accident, but were given an insight into Woody Guthrie's suffering from "Huntington's Disease" and his life in the hospital with Pete Seeger by his side. Seeger nurtured Dylan's talent.
The film was affirming in several ways such as we always felt that Joan Baez had an affair with Dylan and the film confirms it. It also shows how he was booed at during his morphing into an electric guitar versus a twelve string acoustic guitar. This was a pivotal point in Dylan's career.
The film was also informative in that it showed how Johnny Cash became a fan and we wondered what Cash was doing at a Newport Folk Festival and why Dylan made the switch to electric guitar there. Dylan was evolving as a wordsmith and musician and he felt that his "handlers"wanted him to keep the "Folkie" thing going and have him perform "Blowing In The Wind" forever.
Dylan's choices were a bit questionable such as using an electric guitar at a folk festival versus at a regular gig. His women called him an asshole on more than one occasion and we can see why.
Timothee Chalamet brought Dylan's character to life on the screen and one felt like they were really watching Dylan throughout the film and deserves an Oscar for the performance. Dylan is such a complicated man whose (to quote from the movie) talent was bursting at the seams. It might still be, but we had to leave before his segment in July 2024 at the Hollywood Bowl for the Outlaw Tour so we don't know.
None of the supporting actors performances were lacking and each and every one was excellent.
When one puts the Hendrix film "All Is By My Side" up against this masterpiece one can only shake their head. During that thing there was only a hint of music which Waddy Wachtel from Stevie Nicks' band diddled. Not one complete song in the whole film.
When Dylan and Baez sing "It Ain't Me Babe" in this film I was transported back to when I sent my abusive ex husband a letter that stated "whatever it is going on in your head it ain't me." The ex was a huge fan of Dylan's from day one and we figured he would get the gist with a Dylan song.
Dylan's work was actually bootlegged by the first legendary underground record label known by its Pig logo. In the book "A Pig's Tale" authors Ralph Sutherland and Harald Sherrick muse that some of Dylan's work was a direct result of their bootleg efforts.
There are too many high points in "A Complete Unknown" to list everyone of them. GO.SEE.IT!
Yes, Dylan is an asshole but so was Jim Morrison. All the best ones are.
