A Complete Unknowntells the story of a young Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) after he moves to New York City in 1961 and quickly finds himself gaining fame in the folk music circuit. When he meets Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning), they are drawn to each other. However, it is not a perfect relationship. Because the musical performances were all recorded live, the movie is taken to a whole new level, truly solidifying itself as one of the best of the year.
A Complete Unknownis garneringa lot of awards buzz, and rightfully so. Timothée Chalamet is a top contender for Best Actor this year because of his performance as Dylan. Should he win, he would set a record as the youngest actor to ever take home the gold in this category.A Complete Unknowncomes to theaters on December 25.
A Complete Unknown Review: Timothée Chalamet Captivates As Bob Dylan In A Fascinating Yet Frustrating Biopic
I walked away from the film feeling distant from Bob Dylan. That seems to be by design but it’s no less frustrating from a storytelling point of view.
ScreenRantinterviewed Timothée Chalamet and Elle FanningaboutA Complete Unknown. Chalamet explains why he felt it was so important to record the musical performances live, rather than “lip-sync” to pre-recorded tracks. Fanning recalls the scene that she feels was the most important for to get right, for the sake of her character, Sylvie.
Timothée Chalamet Felt It Was Important To Record The Musical Performances Live
“I thought there was an element of blasphemy there, because why make a movie about Bob Dylan to sanitize it?”
ScreenRant: In speaking with the sound team, they said you pushed for the live recordings of the musical performances. Can you talk about the authenticity that brings to the film and why you wanted to do it?
Timothée Chalamet: Yeah, we had six months to do these pre-records in LA to get the pre-existing versions of the songs that typically lip-sync to, for lack of a better description, when you shoot a movie. And the truth is, it was just a lot more fun to do live. In a sense, maybe it was reckless, but the first song we did was a song called Song to Woody, which we shot in a hospital, and it’s a very intimate scene.
It was almost impossible to lip-sync to, so we gave it a go, and without being un-self-effusive, I don’t know if I’m getting that right, it went very well, and it gave me the ammo or the fuel I needed with Jim, and sometimes in contrast to Jim to go, hey, we should really do this live. It’s something every actor started to do on this, and it’s folk music, you know? If you’re playing someone in a music biopic where the choreography was iconic in a sense, of course you have to match it, but the rawness of folk music, the rawness of the recordings, sometimes the rawness of Alan Lomax’s recordings is what gives it that grit.
Some of the pre-records we would do where if I warmed up with a vocal coach and it sounded really clean. I could, as a humble member of the Church of Bob now, I thought there was an element of blasphemy there, because why make a movie about Bob Dylan to sanitize it? Not that we could capture the actual grit of the young man in the early 60s, mid-60s, but might as well give it our best shot.
And to do it live, it’s something that Edward Norton was always the devil or angel in my ear, where you go, hey, I know they’re giving you a hard time by singing it live, but just keep doing it, because you sound so much better live.
Elle Fanning Recalls How She Feels The Fence Scene Was The Most Important To Get Right
ScreenRant: I cried with you during that scene where Sylive is leaving Bob. Can you talk about that moment, and maybe if you brought anything from your personal life into it?
Elle Fanning: Probably. I love that scene though, reading that scene. It almost feels like, in a lot of ways, the way that Bob and Sylvie are written in this movie does feel like an old Hollywood romantic love story, the push and the pull. So I love that we watch the old movie on our date, and how the Now, Voyager, the Bette Davis film, comes back at the end with that scene.
I call it the fence scene, because of how Jim shot it, but it’s such a great metaphor for where they’re at in their lives. Sometimes you read a scene, and you’re like, okay, I know this one’s the important one for me. They’re all important, but that just stands out. It’s like, you have to have the payoff of that. But I think that scene went well, it was great.
Timothée Chalamet: Elle is so fantastic in that scene. And that’s not one that I read, as she just said, maybe you read it from Sylvie’s perspective, as like, the one. I didn’t. I always figured that Bob was really emotionally withdrawn in some ways.
Actually, I don’t want to define it too much. But when I was with Elle and she was bringing it to that degree, it definitely pulled on one’s heartstrings. How could it not? She’s so fantastic in that scene. In the whole movie.
About A Complete Unknown (2024)
New York, 1961. Against the backdrop of a vibrant music scene and tumultuous cultural upheaval, an enigmatic 19-year-old from Minnesota arrives with his guitar and revolutionary talent, destined to change the course of American music. He forges intimate relationships with music icons of Greenwich Village on his meteoric rise, culminating in a groundbreaking and controversial performance that reverberates worldwide. Timothée Chalamet stars and sings as Bob Dylan in James Mangold’s A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, the electric true story behind the rise of one of the most iconic singer-songwriters in history.
A Complete Unknown
Cast
A Complete Unknown is a biographical movie that follows a young Bob Dylan as he integrates with New York and catches the eye of the folk singers in the area, eventually propelling him into stardom.
