A Complete Unknown: The BRWC Review. By Jake Peffer.

In 1965, Bob Dylan decided to change his act in the folk music scene by going electric and rock. A Complete Unknown follows Dylan throughout the early part of his career all the way through to this defining moment in his long career. Director James Mangold has been down this road before having directed the great Walk The Line back in 2005. While not quite reaching the same heights as some of his previous works, Mangold is able to put together an engaging biopic filled with great performances and fantastic music numbers.

James Mangold has always been a competent director, and this is another solid movie to add to his filmography. Working once again with Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael, who has shot several of Mangold’s previous movies, bodes well for the movie as he is able to capture the look of 1960’s New York. There is some grittiness brought to the look of the movie which is much appreciated. Little things stick out throughout, whether it be the smoke coming from a cigarette or the strumming of a guitar. 

Everyone in the cast here puts in a great performance. Timothee Chalamet plays Bob Dylan incredibly well. He is able to embody the legendary singer and even get a lot of his mannerisms down as he performs all of the songs throughout the movie. The supporting cast are all welcome additions to go along with Chalamet’s performance. Elle Fanning and Monica Barbaro play the two ladies that come in and out of Dyaln’s life during this time. Both give great performances, with Barbaro also singing all her songs as well. Edward Norton gives one of his more grounded performances as Pete Seeger. It’s not often that Norton does these types of roles but when he does, he usually knocks them out. A true scene stealer here is Mangold mainstay Boyd Holbrook. Holbrook plays Johnny Cash, and his performance may very well be the best on screen performance of The Man in Black.

Despite everything that works there are some issues that the movie runs into. At just over two hours and twenty minutes, this overstays its welcome. While the story is mostly interesting there are some scenes, especially in the second act, that start to make things feel sluggish. The pacing is quite slow which doesn’t help in the scenes that don’t work as well. While the song performances aren’t the only good parts they stand out and without a doubt the highlights of the movie.

A Complete Unknown is not one of the best biopics of all time, but it is an above average one. Featuring great performances and some fantastic musical numbers, this is a competently made movie that works more than it doesn’t. Had the runtime been cut down by about twenty to twenty-five minutes it may have worked a little better and been much tighter.

Rating: 7/10

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