A Complete Unknown has become the big over-performer this awards season.  Pundits were iffy on its chances a few months ago but it’s been nominated for the top prize by the three major industry bodies – the Screen Actors Guild, the Directors Guild, and the Producers Guild.  It also picked up 6 BAFTA nominations (including best film) and is likely to be honoured further when the Academy Awards nominations are unveiled later this week.

Music biopics tend to follow a predictable path but director James Mangold, no stranger to the topic having made Walk the Line two decades ago, has done enough to make this different.  This isn’t the kind of movie where Bob Dylan’s achievements are ticked off like a shopping list.  Rather, it looks only at the start of his career (1961 to 1965) and is focused more on who he was as opposed to what he did.  There are a lot of songs (you could almost call this a musical) and its through Dylan’s own lyrics that we understand his personality and perspective on the world.

I’ve been in the Timothée Chalamet fan club since his Oscar-nominated, breakout performance in 2017’s Call Me by Your Name.  Refusing to be typecast, he’s since proven himself across a range of genres including romance (Little Women), historical drama (The King), action (Dune), horror (Bones and All), comedy (The French Dispatch), and family (Wonka).  It’s a resume any actor would be proud of.

A Complete Unknown is another fresh challenge in that he’s playing a well-known, real-life person for the first time.  Chalamet does a brilliant job is capturing Dylan’s essence without slipping into caricature.  His singing is particularly impressive!  You can feel the emotion (tingle down your spine stuff) as his character goes on stage and reels the audience in with his charm and lyrics.  Part of the credit goes to vocal coach Eric Vetro, who worked with Austin Butler on Elvis, in helping shape Chalamet’s voice.

The three main supporting players are Elle Fanning (Maleficent) as his on-again-off-against girlfriend Sylvie Russo, Edward Norton (Primal Fear) as folk music mentor Pete Seeger, and Monica Barbaro (Top Gun: Maverick) as performing partner Joan Baez.  It’s hard to pick a favourite (they’re all great) but Norton was the slightly standout for me.  I enjoyed the interplay between he and Chalamet as the power dynamic between Dylan and Seeger shifts over time.

Finishing on a humorous note at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, A Complete Unknown is a fitting tribute to a music icon.