Hey movie fans! We’ve come to the required musical biopic portion of the Oscars review. This year it’s the Bob Dylan story about one of the key moments in the history of music in A Complete Unknown. I’ll give you my thoughts about the movie but heads up if you don’t like folk music or you hate Bob Dylan songs, this movie is not gonna be for you.

What’s A Complete Unknown about?

If you are looking for a musical biopic that goes deep into the personal life of Bob Dylan, this isn’t it. When Dylan started his career he burst forth on the folk music scene along with people like Pete Seeger and Joan Baez. But Dylan’s vision was larger than that. We do see a few glimpses of his turbulent dating life at the time but the movie focuses on the events leading up to the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. To put it simply, he brought an electric guitar to an acoustic fight.

And he won. Bob Dylan is a music legend who was right when he said, “The times they are a changin’.” Dylan used his influence to get his songs out to the larger public and it was a very controversial move at the time. It almost seems silly now but Bob Dylan could play more than one type of song. But along the way, there are some people he didn’t treat as well as he could have.

Timothée Chalamet stars in the film and puts on a mumbly affectation that works quite well. And he does the vocal work in the movie as well. And he does a great job but for those of us who are a little older, he’s never going to be Bob Dylan. Why? Well, seems a little mean to say but his voice, like his face, is not rough enough. Bob Dylan seemed like the voice of a generation because he looked and sounded like the average guy.

Still, it’s quite an impressive performance and it’s worth watching for that reason.

The awards

This film is nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound, and Best Costume Design.

As far as sound goes, well there’s a lot of music here so I could see it winning. But I still think Dune: Part Two makes a better case though. I will not be surprised at all if this takes Best Actor but my personal pick for that is Adrien Brody for The Brutalist. (I suppose I could change my mind as I keep watching these films but that’s where I am right now). Edward Norton has a great turn here as Pete Seeger. But I think the best performance here is from Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez. She plays a complex role with a good amount of subtlety here. I don’t think this is going to take home Best Picture or Best Director. While this film is ambitious, there are several this year that are more ambitious. I also think it’s not taking home best costume design, although the clothing here is very believable for the period.

A Complete Unknown in conclusion

Honestly, I’m tired of the musical biopic at this point. But I will give this film this much. It actually focuses on the music. The music is the central conflict here rather than just telling Bob Dylan’s life story. In fact, almost none of Dylan’s life story (outside of his dating life) is told here. That part was a little refreshing. The movie is worth your time but there’s no need to rush out to theaters for this one. When you’re in a Bob Dylan mood, give it a shot on a streaming service. I enjoyed the movie but it doesn’t feel that consequential to me.

Awardingly yours,

Slick Dungeon

P.S. Want to see what I thought of the Best Picture winner last year? Check out my review of Oppenheimer!