Film review/ A Complete Unknown

 

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR 

Film review/ A Complete Unknown 

Director: James Mangold 

Cast: Timothee Chalamet, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, Edward Norton, Scoot McNairy 

Rating: *****

Hey Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me, I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to. It's been over 24 hours since I saw A Complete Unknown, director John Mangold's cinematic ode to the Bob Dylan genius, and I'm sitting on the terrace, with one more cup of coffee, trying to pen my thoughts.

I've seen all the big-screen biopics, of Queen and Doors, Elvis and Elton John, Johnny Cash and Ray Charles, Whitney Houston and Loretta Lynn, of manipulators of crowds, dream twisters. Perhaps, this one tops it all, though it technically isnt a full-fledged biopic as it covers only four years of Dylan's life. Maybe I'm biased because of that Dylan obsession that began in college 42 years ago and continues even now while trying to stay forever young.

To our 1960s generation, many born around the time Dylan began his career, he was the righteous king who wrote psalms beside moonlit streams. To our joy, he's brought perfectly to life by Timothee Chalamet in this film. That nasal twang in speech and song, that tousled hair, that distinct gait, all come across so naturally from the time he sings a tune he'd written for his idol Woody Guthrie who's ailing on a hospital bed. "I'm a-singin' you this song, that I can't sing enough; 'cause there's not many men that done things you've done", he sings in the presence of folk singer Pete Seeger.

The four years covered here, from 1961 to 1965, show Dylan penning some of his most memorable lyrics. Those were the days he was called the priest of protest, before he moved from traditional folk songs to a louder avatar who plugged an electric guitar to the accompaniment of thunderous drums at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, much to the annoyance of the purist fans. 

There are other characters in the early Dylan period, besides Seeger (played brilliantly by Edward Norton) and Guthrie (Scoot McNairy, talking with his eyes and hands). Manager Albert Grossman, singers Johnny Cash and Bob Neuwirth, and musicians Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper all had their parts in the Dylan saga. There's also a cameo by this character Jesse Moffette, played by Big Bill Morganfield, son of the legendary bluesman Muddy Waters. 

Yet, two women in his life hold particular significance in that period, their magnetic movements capturing the minutes he's in. There's singer Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro, outstanding), who lights up the New York folk scene with the traditional anthems 'Silver Dagger' and 'House Of The Rising Sun' (popularised later by The Animals). And there's Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning), who is actually Suzy Rotolo, Dylan's girlfriend at the time who appeared with him on the cover of the 1963 album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. Apparently the name was changed on Dylan's request, though the original record sleeve appears in a frame. Don't ask why. The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind.

Through all this, it's the songs that shine their light on you. From early gems like 'Blowin' In The Wind'. 'Masters Of War', 'Girl From The North Country', 'A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall' and 'Don't Think Twice, It's All Right' to hits like 'Mr Tambourine Man', 'Highway 61 Revisited' and 'Like A Rolling Stone', there's a sizeable selection, though frustratingly, some of them have been cut mid-way.

But there are great moments too. The crowd singing along to 'The Times They Are A'-Changing' is an absolute delight, and the chemistry between Timothee and Monica on 'It Ain't Me Babe' is next-level. Throughout, Timothee, Monica and Boyd Holbrook (who plays Johnny Cash) sound uncannily similar to the musicians they are enacting, even in voice texture. Significantly, the Woody Guthrie classic 'Dusty Old Dust' is played at the end in the background, with the lines "So long, it's been good to know yuh, so long, it's been good to know yuh, this dusty old dust is a-gettin' my home and I've got to he driftin' along" giving gooseflesh.

The other plus point is the look, with every detail taken care of in terms of fashion trends, vehicles and furniture designs from that era. There's an element of nostalgia that took me disappearing through the smoke-rings of my mind, down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves, the haunted frightened trees, out to the windy beach, far from the twisted reach, of crazy sorrow.

For director Mangold, it's another victory. He has made diverse films like the Johnny Cash biopic Walk The Line, the satirical action drama Knight And Day, the corporate drama Ford Vs Ferrari and the action adventure Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny. He has the kind of versatility and adaptability that Dylan referred to in a line, "He can take the dark out of the nighttime, paint the daytime black".

While the film is a must for fans of Dylan in particular and 1960s music in general, it's also a good eye-opener for those who want to know more about the only musician to receive the Nobel Prize For Literature. Even those who can't stand his voice may check out what the fuss is all about - they'll probably discover Baez and Cash in the process, and hang on to their Dylan-phobia.

Strangely enough, in various cities across India, dismal attendance has been reported on the first two days, with as low as six or eight people in the hall, some being young couples who were there for other reasons, which there ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe, when you should have known by now. 

Maybe the rest are happier with Coldplay and prefer 'Yellow' to 'Baby Blue'. But, come mothers and fathers throughout the land, don't criticise what you can't understand, your sons and your daughters are beyond your command, your old road is rapidly aging, please get out of the new one if you can't lend your hand, for the times they are a-changin'.