A good music biopic is hard to come by these days, but the Timothée Chalamet-led Bob Dylan movie, A Complete Unknown, does the job. Directed by James Mangold, who is no stranger to the genre, it is surprisingly good. Browse this movie on Afdah info.
Granted, the state of the subgenre is worse than when Mangold took on Johnny Cash in Walk the Line. With movies as dull as I Wanna Dance with Somebody or as wildly stupid as Elvis, it's a miracle something like Bohemian Rhapsody got any Oscars attention.
There have been some exceptions — Rocketman's fantastical approach to telling Elton John's story was the best way of telling it. Similarly, A Complete Unknown learned from it, not using strict timelines and thus not pigeonholing itself to specific events.
A Complete Unknown depicts the rise of Bob Dylan in the early '60s. It culminates in his controversial switch to electrically amplified music with his Highway 61 Revisited album.
Chalamet will get his Oscar moment — if Rami Malek can win one for Bohemian Rhapsody, the Call Me by Your Name star should. He embodies the spirit of Dylan, from his awkward chuckle to his iconic singing voice.
But he is not the only standout. Edward Norton, who is seemingly only seen in Wes Anderson joints these days, reminds the world how good of an actor he is. Elle Fanning is the emotional anchor of the Bob Dylan biopic.