"Like A Complete Unknown": The Unsolved Mystery of Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan (83) is without question one of the most influential figures in music history - an artist who defied categorization and influenced an entire generation. His story offers plenty of material for a biopic. In James Mangold's film "Like A Complete Unknown" (in German cinemas from February 27th), superstar Timothée Chalamet (29) becomes Dylan. The film focuses on Dylan's early years, in which he became the voice of social change as a young folk musician from Minnesota in New York City in the 1960s.

The film focuses less on Dylan's background or his artistic development, but rather on his relationships with singer Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro) and his girlfriend Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning), as well as his encounters with music greats such as Pete Seeger (Edward Norton), Johnny Cash (Boyd Holbrook) and Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy). Despite the large number of characters and acquaintances, the film remains surprisingly superficial: the audience learns hardly anything about the people who accompany Dylan on his journey. Instead, the audience is confronted with a concert lasting more than two hours, which is more reminiscent of a glorified cover band than a deep examination of the artist.

In particular, his interactions with the women in his life are barely reflected upon. Dylan appears here as an unsympathetic, egocentric figure who is often inconsiderate of the feelings of others. It is a picture of a man who only engages with his surroundings when it contributes to his own legend.

Conclusion

The film is well-directed, visually coherent and has an authentic period feel - more than 100 nominations for international film awards, including eight for the Academy Awards, speak for themselves. Lead actor Timothée Chalamet delivers a thoroughly impressive acting and singing performance, for which he received his second Oscar nomination for Best Actor. However, his performance is wasted in a film that fails to give the character any depth. "Like A Complete Unknown" is a film that ends up going nowhere - uninspired, superficial and without a clear direction.

It's difficult to build an emotional connection to the main character: If you go into the film with little background knowledge, you won't be any the wiser afterwards. The title "Like A Complete Unknown" is fitting: Even after 140 minutes, the character Bob Dylan remains an intangible mystery, a complete unknown.

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