According to experts, the upcoming Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, is in safe hands as fans and music historians react to the first trailer. James Mangold’s upcoming film, starring Timothée Chalamet, is the second fictional feature telling the life story of the iconic music legend. I’m Not There, released in 2007, took an abstract approach to Bob Dylan’s life as multiple characters embodied different aspects of Dylan’s work across his long and storied career. A Complete Unknown appears to be taking a grounded and more specific approach, and it’s already received good marks for historical accuracy.
Variety spoke to a dozen music experts about the first trailer for A Complete Unknown and the new film gets an A for effort and accuracy. The experts were asked about the general reception towards the film before and after the trailer was released. When the movie was first announced, many fans criticized Chalamet’s casting in the role, which wasn’t helped by the first images of the production. However, the trailer appears to have drastically altered perceptions within Bob Dylan’s devoted fan base.
Author and Dylan expert Ray Padgett (Pledging My Time: Conversations With Bob Dylan Band Members) said:
”
From the Dylan people, I saw a lot of mockery
. And to the limited extent I was looking after the trailer came out, what I saw was mostly positive. I saw a lot of enthusiasm from Dylan people.
I was impressed by the voice. For the first second or so, before they showed him, I was like, “Is that Bob?
””
A Complete Unknown
- Studio(s)
- Searchlight Pictures , The Picture Company , Automatik Entertainment
Host of the Dylan.FM podcast and website, Craig Danuloff, held a similar opinion, saying:
”
The Dylan community was pretty skeptical
. Now I’d say about 90% of the fans on Twitter — and they’ll complain about anything — are very positive about the trailer. There was a gradual progression of information that made the hardcore fans slowly realize, ‘Hey, maybe this is going to be OK.'”
Bob Dylan Approves of the New Biopic
While fans, academics, and experts can debate all they want about the accuracy of the film, there’s only one opinion that really matters, Bob Dylan’s. The music legend (who’s still touring at 83 years old) spoke to a very nervous James Mangold about the film, and asked the director what story he wanted to tell. Mangold described the concept for his film, saying:
“The first time I sat down with him, Bob said, ‘What’s this movie about, Jim?’ I said, ‘
It’s about a guy who’s choking to death in Minnesota, and leaves behind all his friends and family and reinvents himself in a brand new place
, makes new friends, builds a new family, becomes phenomenally successful, starts to choke to death again — and runs away.'”
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Throughout the years, Bob Dylan’s haunting lyrics and dulcet vocals have provided dozens of movie scenes with the perfect atmosphere.
Dylan approves of the film, having simply responded, “I like that.” Alongside Chalamet as the iconic singer/songwriter, A Complete Unknown also stars Edward Norton (Pete Seeger), Elle Fanning (Sylvie Russo), Monica Barbaro (Joan Baez), Boyd Holbrook (Johnny Cash), Scoot McNairy (Woody Guthrie), Dan Fogler (Albert Grossman), and Norbert Leo Butz (Alan Lomax). The script is penned by Mangold and Jay Cocks.
A Complete Unknown
rolls into theaters in December 2024.