A COMPLETE UNKNOWN

Unfortunately, any musical biopic released after 2007 has the indelible shadow of 'Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story' looming over it. Inspired heavily by 'Walk the Line', Mangold's own 2005 film that explores the life of Johnny Cash (who also shows up in 'A Complete Unknown,' Einstein-in-'Oppenheimer'-style), 'Walk Hard's masterful satire of the genre's tired tropes makes it impossible to take straight-faced iterations without a kilogram of salt. I'm cracking up now just thinking about the film. Curiously, instead of trying to outrun the tropes that 'Walk Hard' mocks 'Walk the Line' for – the trite dialogue, the infidelity, the pressures from the record label – Mangold simply doubles down on them in 'A Complete Unknown.' It's unclear whether this is because Mangold believes in them or he was a bit lazy here, but what's immediately apparent is that they're in no way up to the task of telling Dylan's story in an interesting way. It also doesn't help that Mangold and Jay Cocks' ('Silence') screenplay is riddled with clichés; there's never a moment of legitimate tension, nothing that Dylan is risking beyond his friendship with Seeger over their differing sonic preferences.

Thank goodness, then, for the film's fantastic performances. Another male star may have approached the role as a clear Oscars punt, and while Timothée Chalamet has neatly carved out his spot in the Best Actor race, it's one that's definitely deserved. Despite seeing him on my screen for the better part of a decade, he completely disappears into Dylan's self-involvedness and his iconic sunglasses, and his rendition of 'The Times They Are A-Changin'' is electrifying. It's hard to sneak the limelight away from Chalamet, but Monica Barbaro does just that as Joan Baez. Her tender singing voice is stunning, one that begs audiences to return to the soundtrack after the credits roll, and her chemistry with Chalamet is compelling. Additionally, even when he's spewing nonsense about how Dylan must choose between folk and rock, Norton turns one of his most memorable roles in years.

Ultimately, the most frustrating thing about 'A Complete Unknown' is that it left me with no clue about who Dylan is or what actually drives him, beyond what I might find on his Wikipedia page. Some may argue that that's the point, given the film's title and his contempt for his own iconography, but it's not like Dylan is some enigma that no one has bothered to explore before. Nothing is ever unpacked enough, made even more difficult by the fact that the film wraps up when Dylan is just 25 years old, just as he's getting truly started. If even a casual fan cannot learn anything, and certified Dylanologists will already know everything the film covers, it's difficult to discern who this film is even for.

'A Complete Unknown' feels like a disappointing regression for the musical biopic genre, especially following so closely after 'Better Man', an exploration of the life of UK pop star Robbie Williams that proved following a formula doesn't have to be boring. Thankfully, the performances save 'A Complete Unknown' from being a waste of time, but don't go in looking for insight into Bob Dylan's life. I may not know much about him, but I know for a fact that for a career that's lasted this long, his life is far more interesting than what we see here. Best to go spin his discography instead.