A friend and I went to see “A Complete Unknown” – the movie – last night at our local cinema and it was indeed a pleasant evening out – at least until the very end. The film, as you may well know, covers Dylan’s days from sitting at the bedside of Woody Guthrie at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in New Jersey onto the first concert where he performed accompanied by an electric band, (and was roundly booed).
The audience in the cinema (at least for this film) was decidedly of the older variety – people like me who have been Dylan fans from the moment his music first became available in the UK in 1962/63. And looking around while overhearing the pre-film chatter, I wasn’t the only person there who was accompanied by a friend who wasn’t a committed Dylan fan, but was interested in seeing the film.
I’ve seen reviews that suggest the film is “disappointingly unambitious” and I suppose that means “unambitious” in the sense that it primarily told the story that we all know of Dylan visiting Gutherie, making his initial albums, riding motorbikes without a helmet and then playing an electric set. And so for those of us who know all this, yes there is nothing new but it is still entertaining. But for those who come along with their committed companion, much of it will be new, and I think, enjoyable. That’s the sort of movie it is.
It is sympathetic, it’s a good story, and the performances by Timothée Chalamet and cast, is extremely well-played. The criticism is thus, for me, one of those typical film reviewer comments where the writer seems to assume that everyone knows everything and everyone wants to move on to something new. But no, sometimes I (and I think the rest o the audience) like to revisit the past. And why not?
Besides, some of us who have been following Dylan from the start, and while not quite as old as he is, are getting on a bit, do like to be reminded of the old days, in an entertaining and sympathetic way. In short, if you want some new insights into Dylan that have not been aired before, your best bet is probably still to read Untold Dylan. Not every article will please you, but you should get quite a bit of enjoyment along the way. But on the other hand if you want a decent evening out… yes this is a good way to get it.
The other point that struck me is that we have had a number of Dylan movies before, portraying Dylan in all sorts of ways, while playing with the enigmatic nature of Dylan and his work from time to time. So that has been done, and although perhaps another enigma built on enigma movie might find something new to say, surely there is nothing wrong with a film that turns its back on those approaches and instead gives us a reminder (although in double quick time) of the journey from “complete unknown” to the man who had enough confidence to take on the whole folk music world by playing an electric set.
Looking back once again it was an extraordinarily odd and bold thing to do, and I found myself wondering why those organising the concert at which Dylan “went electric” didn’t actually ask him what was going on, as all the paraphernalia of an electric gig (such as amplifiers) was set up on the stage. But no, seemingly (according to the film) no one noticed the cables and the amps. And presumably, there wasn’t a sound check either.
And I must admit, I’ve never thought of this before. Who laid all the power cables? Why didn’t anyone ask what they were doing?
OK maybe I’m being trivial and silly, and of course, with movies, we are required to suspend disbelief. What’s more, this film doesn’t set out to be anything but a piece of entertainment and reminiscence for those (and in some cases their carers) who want to reminisce.
Dylan said of the film, “Timmy’s a brilliant actor so I’m sure he’s going to be completely believable as me. Or a younger me. Or some other me.” And that’s a good way to put it. With this actor, you can really believe you are watching a young Dylan, and since most of the people opting to watch the film will know the history (even if their companions or possibly carers don’t) that is exactly what the film needs.
Indeed it is not too surprising to see the film being nominated for awards. I don’t go to the movies enough to know if it was in with a shout, but I certainly thought the performances of the leading actors were exactly what was needed. It is, after all, a story in which less talented actors and filmmakers could go totally over the top.
My own reading of Bob’s history, and listening over and again to the early recordings leads me to conclude that in these early days, Bob was uncertain about where he was and what he was. Bob in his later days has become an expert at being either a myth-creator or a myth-maker, I am never sure what. But it all seems to fit.
What we don’t have is any attempt to consider, let alone explain, the evolution of Bob’s composition on from the lost love tales of “Don’t think twice,” through to telling the older generation that their world has gone with “Times they are a-changing” and then onto the feeling of being completely outside of the world with “Like a rolling stone”. But that makes sense within the film because we are observing Bob from the outside, not considering the world as Bob sees it.
I have seen criticisms of the fact that the movie falls into the trap of the “worn-out tropes of a biopic,” but this I think is to ignore the creative conception of the film – just as many general commentators completely fail to understand the creative conception of Dylan’s music.
The fact is that most of the audience for such a movie will be people who have been Dylan fans for much of their lives. OK some will be their friends, family members or even (dare I say it) their carers, but the people taking the initiative to go to see the film will be people who have followed Dylan for much of his and their lives. They’ve heard the music and read the books. We know what really happened, and many of us will have been there at least in terms of time, if not physically in the same country.
In short the audience – or at least the prime part of the audience – knows the story because many of them were following it in real time in their teens or 20s. So trying to see the movie through the critical eyes of a disengaged (and probably younger) observer is pointless. We know what happened, we just like seeing it again in a partially fictionalised form.
Besides, there are some nice throw-aways in the film too, like Bob saying, “People make up their past,” which I think we have learned well enough, and not just in relation to Bob. Indeed it has always seemed to me that the only people who don’t realise that we all interpret our pasts in our own way, giving accent to some moments, and deleting others, emphasising and expanding in some ways, forgetting in others, are members of the legal profession and journalists looking to take a few cheap swipes.
The way Dylan has done some mythologising of his own has often been picked up on by journalists who have such limited knowledge of music they don’t know what else to write about. Besides which, the telling of tales is what folk music (where less we forget is where Bob started) is all about.
And also there are nice bits that from all that we know, are true, such as the unplanned introduction of the organ into “Like a Rolling Stone,” which I really enjoyed too.
In fact, for me, it was a thoroughly good evening out, at least until our return journey back to my village tragically reminded me of the world we are actually now in, as all the roads were shut around the nearby supermarket that I use several times a week, following a stabbing of a store worker by a shoplifter. Real life, and again a “complete unknown” as ever, is there ready to slap one in the face; the stabbing hasn’t even made the news. I fear for the worker who was attacked, but then quite separately I was really pleased to see the film. That I suppose is the dichotomy of life.
You could see a short extract of the soundcheck of the 1965 Newport concert in “Bob Dylan Live at the Newport Folk Festival The Other Side of the Mirror” documentary (and Peter Yarrow was there).
Oh no Tony! I’ve yet to see the film and you’ve spoiled it!
He goes Electric?
I’m dreadfully sorry. I should have put SPOILER ALERT at the top.
Hey Tony, my partner and I went and saw A Complete Unknown for the second time last night. I feel much the same as you, and true enough I’d never given a thought to who laid the cables either. Anyway, really insightful and honest review. I think the film strikes the right balance between a good portrayal of the man and period, with just enough of that enigma and Raymond Carver-esque ‘colouring outside the lines’ that Dylan reveled in.
I had a lot of thoughts the first time and had to get them down. If you’re interested, you can read them here – set up a Substack specially: https://jcridford.substack.com/p/a-complete-unknown-film-review
J
Very many thanks JC. I could run your review on the site as an article in its own right, rather than as a comment, if you wish. If so, send it to me as a Word document with how you want to be indentified as author at the top, and I’ll put it up. I think it would be worth it.
Hey Tony. It’s been a while. I enjoyed your review just as I enjoyed the movie for many of the reasons you have pointed out. I think it is quite something that Timothée learned to both sing and play the guitar in under six months prior to shooting the movie. Similarly, Monica Barbaro who played Baez learned to sing in the same timeframe. I wasn’t sure it was going to be for me but I was surprised. Ed Norton as Pete Seeger was another great casting choice imo. Yeah, I’d give it 8/10. Hope all is good with you Tony.