• A Complete Unknown

6/20/26 (Sat)

I had skipped this in the theater since I’d seen enough of Bob Dylan in the documentary Don’t Look Back, which covers roughly the same time period as this film. But the flight to Europe was long, and I do like the music.

The filmmakers cast an admirably neutral light on Dylan, who again comes off as a fine musician but rotten person. He is dismissive of others both creatively and personally, sleeps around with little thought to the women’s feelings, and is disloyal even to those closest to him. Highway 91 is a tremendous album and all that, but that doesn’t excuse his behavior at the folk festival. It’s like going to a Broadway Musical concert and playing heavy metal: it’s just rude. It wouldn’t have killed him to show respect to his mentor by singing just one or two oldies, especially given that he owes his career in good part to the mentor. He could have quietly withdrawn after that, and it wouldn’t have affected sales of Highway 91 whatsoever. He comes off as a selfish jerk, though that’s no surprise after the documentary.

As a film, though, the material was terrific. I’m so impressed that Timothée Chalamet and Ed Norton (as a laidback Pete Seeger), who gave spot-on performances, can sing and play at that level. Timothy’s voice in particular was uncannily close to Dylan’s. The musical selections and performances throughout were perfect. They were like a greatest hits from that era, which was fine with me.

The script was first rate, portraying Dylan’s manner and personality precisely as in the documentary. It pulled no punches – I’m surprised the singer didn’t step in and halt it, but then he doesn’t seem overly concerned with how people view him. His determination to follow his own path, which the film seems to be putting in a good light, is fine, but he betrayed too many people along the way. He really needs a personality transplant.

In any case, that’s not the film’s fault. It was exceptionally well made, creating credible portraits not only of Dylan but Joan Baez, Dylan’s manager, and others in his orbit. Despite the film’s misguided sympathies for this rat, it makes a great companion to the documentary.