After seeing A Complete Unknown last Thursday night I was surprised I didn’t hate the film. Granted, my expectations were bottom-rung (and unless Searchlight Pictures and director James Mangold are figuring Bob Dylan (83) will croak soon and looking for a ghoulish cash grab, there was no reason to make the flawed biopic, especially since Martin Scorsese, with Dylan’s close overseeing, covered the same ground with 2005’s superb No Direction Home) but the film went fast and I never considered doing a runner. Also, Timothee Chalamet—not a favorite actor of mine—deserves credit for immersing himself in a challenging role. I didn’t think his singing was great, far too tentative (when he’s composing an embryonic “It’s Alright, Ma,” he sounds out the words like a six-year-old learning to read), and nothing like Dylan’s I’m-the-boss confident originals; on the other hand, Monica Barbaro nails the voice of Joan Baez, if that matters. Edward Norton’s portrayal of Pete Seeger was decent—unlike Chalamet, I think Norton’s one of his generation’s finest actors—but I don’t remember Seeger being so goofy.
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