“A Complete Unknown” is a biopic of the legendary folk musician Bob Dylan. Star Timothee Chalamet perfected his singing and guitar playing for five to six years even while he was acting in both Dune Movies. Chalamet and his co-star Monica Barbaro’s hard work led to nominations for their performances as Dylan and Joan Baez, another famous folk artist of the late 60’s and early 70’s. Even if you are not a fan of Bob Dylan, I would recommend “A Complete Unknown.” Not only is it a moving story but an extremely well-crafted biopic that I believe everyone can watch and enjoy.
This film follows in the steps of other biopics like “Bohemian Rhapsody,” about musical group Queen, or “Rocketman,” about Elton John. The success of musical biopics has skyrocketed in recent years, and with a Beatles biopic being filmed soon, we can only expect this trend to continue.
Bob Dylan was an emerging progressive folk musician in the early 60’s who changed the way music and the music industry work. Music became more personal, more musicians could branch out and become their own artists seeing how Bob Dylan could do the same. The music industry also broke free of musical walls and began to take chances on artists that might have been difficult to digest. With a new generation of listeners emerging through a classic rock wave in the 60’s the 70’s, all kinds of new and abstract listening was accepted. Bob Dylan was an inspiration to all, musicians, people young and old, and even other legendary artists. The Beatles went on record saying Bob was an “inspiration” and an “idol,” particularly for his lyrical abilities.
As a musician, Bob Dylan’s story really resonates with me. Although I haven’t truly faced the music industry yet, the difficulty that I have had in creating new ideas which audiences can digest is similar to Dylan’s difficulty in bringing his music to a fading folk scene. And many other musicians can resonate with this as well, maybe not to the same degree of fame but surely to the same degree of struggle.