A lot of ink is spilled discussing the ins and outs of rock stardom and movie stardom. There’s no exact criteria for either one, no specific threshold of commercial success or critical acclaim to pass. They’re both a “you know it when you see it” type of thing. To use the parlance of modern social media, it’s strictly vibes-based. The ability to command a room might be the No. 1 trait associated with this level of stardom. There’s a difference between “just” being famous and being a full-blown star.
Early in his career, Bob Dylan had it, whatever it is, as much as he simultaneously seemed to loathe having it and relish wielding its power. Timothée Chalamet seems to hold a similar degree of power. Whether he’s setting the internet on fire by showing up at his own look-alike contest or displaying his supreme Ball Knowledge, Chalamet may very well be Hollywood’s own Lisan al Gaib, ready to save us from our current movie-star crisis.
I was able to witness this aura in person recently when Chalamet made a stop in Nashville on a whirlwind press campaign. On a Friday night in early December, college kids lined up around the block at the Belcourt Theatre in Hillsboro Village hoping to catch a glimpse of the 28-year-old phenom ahead of a private screening of the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, which features Chalamet as the iconic singer. Media members were able to get in a few quick questions with the actor — who also served in a producer role for the film — before the screening. Despite the chaos going on around us, Chalamet’s answers were thoughtful when they could’ve easily been phoned in.
“[Playing a real person] is a gift because the guy exists,” Chalamet said backstage at the Belcourt. “So the material is out there, the interviews are out there. … In some ways, [it’s] more challenging and limiting to play a real person, but also a gift. … I had to push myself as an actor.”
In a post-Walk Hard world, it can be difficult to watch a by-the-numbers musician biopic without constantly rolling your eyes. But A Complete Unknown’s cast elevates what is a mostly conventional film. Chalamet gives it his all, from mimicking Dylan’s distinct vocal idiosyncrasies to turning in legitimately impressive musical performances, of which there are many in the music-forward movie.
“I grew up on what was on the menu in American pop culture in the early to mid-2000s,” said Chalamet. “I wouldn’t change anything, and I loved it. But this was like getting exposed to a whole new breadth of music and art. … The splintering around getting to be a Bob fan, maybe for some people it’s the other way around. They get deep into The Beatles or Townes Van Zandt or The Rolling Stones or Paul Clayton, some of those people would lead into Bob. For me, it was the other way around. I got into Bob, and I splintered out.”
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Unlike with some music biopics, the supporting players really get a chance to shine in A Complete Unknown. Edward Norton (as Pete Seeger) and Elle Fanning (as Sylvie Russo, a fictionalized version of Dylan’s girlfriend Suze Rotolo) are the film’s beating heart, while a feisty Monica Barbaro nearly steals the show as Joan Baez. Things get a bit mawkish when Dylan’s most famous songs are being performed, but it’s hard not to get swept up when Chalamet and Barbaro share the stage.
Boyd Holbrook throws heat as Johnny Cash, the second on-screen iteration of the country legend from director James Mangold, who also helmed the Oscar-winning Cash biopic Walk the Line. Although the film ends before Dylan’s time in Nashville, Music City is still represented thanks to Holbrook’s hilarious performance as Cash and a brief cameo from Dylan superfan and Nashvillian James Austin Johnson as the MC at a folk club.
“I was in Minnesota yesterday, in Bob’s birthplace, and it was important for me to come to Nashville,” Chalamet said. “I wanted to hit the places that were true to Bob and true to his path and his journey. And I think Nashville is a really big city for him, and it’s just an honor to be here.”
Mangold and co-writer Jay Cocks use Dylan’s relationship with folk legend Woody Guthrie to sort of bookend Dylan’s journey, at least the parts that are covered in A Complete Unknown. Scoot McNairy, in a nearly wordless role, infuses a sadness into the movie as Guthrie in the throes of Huntington’s disease. He helps the emotional response feel earned rather than exploitative or cheap.
The movie also isn’t afraid to show Dylan’s thornier side; this isn’t full-on hagiography. He burns bridges and pisses people off, but it’s all part of a mystique that is somehow both carefully crafted and — sorry — freewheelin’.
Mileage may vary among Dylan fans and completists. But with its electric cast and workmanlike precision from Mangold, A Complete Unknown is worth a family trip to the cineplex over the holiday season.
