The Makers of ‘A Complete Unknown’ Clearly Didn’t Learn the ‘Walk Hard’ Lesson
“I hear Bob is playing electric.”
Without question “How much will ‘A Complete Unknown’ suck?” is the No. 1 question blowing in the Bob Dylan internet, with only the 83-year-old icon’s enigmatic, self-penned tweets coming close.
The first on-set photos of Timothée Chalamet in Dylan drag triggered concerns back in May. The official teaser that dropped in July did little to allay them. And the official trailer released earlier this month has met with grim comparisons to the single movie no one involved with “Unknown” —especially director James Mangold —could want mentioned: Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.
Some backstory. Mangold directed the 2005 Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, which raked in good receipts, positive reviews, and an Oscar for Reese Witherspoon. One of its more harrowing scenes was the death of Cash’s younger brother Jack in a sawmill accident … which two years later would be brutally played for laughs in “Walk Hard.”
A box office bomb at the time, “Walk Hard” since has achieved something of cult status thanks to some truly hilarious songs and relentless, comprehensive skewering of biopic conventions. Simplistic storytelling, trauma as character motivation, random walk-ons of historic figures, thuddingly earnest messaging — they all come into play as we follow the musical odyssey of Dewey Cox from the 1950s to the present day. Love interest Darlene telling Dewey that “The sixties are an important and exciting time” is one, note-perfect example.
So when comparisons between “Unknown” and Walk Hard are rife on social media— one tweet succinctly noting “‘I hear Bob is playing electric,’ is about as WALK HARD as biopic writing gets” — that’s not good.
And while there are limits to what we can gather from a trailer, there is reasonable cause for concern. The biopic focuses on some well-worn if fascinating ground — Bob arrives in New York City, Bob takes the folk scene by storm, Bob alienates said scene by “going electric” at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. Based on an interview with Rolling Stone, it seems Mangold is taking the most predictable tack possible.
“Bob [Dylan] said, ‘What’s this movie about, Jim?’ I said, ‘It’s about a guy who’s choking to death in Minnesota, and leaves behind all his friends and family and reinvents himself in a brand new place, makes new friends, builds a new family, becomes phenomenally successful, starts to choke to death again — and runs away.”
Again, familiar territory to any Bobhead, but it’s a good story and plenty of folks don’t know it (though it’s fair to ask how many outside the faithful will have any interest at all). Fans have also expressed concern regarding how he describes his slapdash approach to telling Dylan’s story. As an example, apparently the film Joan Baez appears on stage with Bob at Newport in 1965 … which didn’t happen. Now, it’s no sin to tweak with the facts in telling a story like this and storytellers need to choose what they include and what they omit. Mangold’s defense:
[…] so does it matter that they sang that song in ’64 and then I’m doing it in ’65? It’s not like I’m ever just doing something out of whole cloth that is a complete contradiction to reality. Moreso I’m trying to put everything in an order that plays dramatically and is true to the things that happened. I’m always much more concerned with being true with the feelings and things happening as they did than what date[.]
But it’s not true to the feelings and things that were happening between Bob and Joan, as a viewing of the documentary Don’t Look Back would make very clear. And, again, while playing mix and match with chronology can be justified it also runs the risk of leading to reductive, overly determined storytelling that turns biopics into groaners. It’s like they never made Walk Hard (has Mangold seen it?).
Time will tell. Dylan fans will surely see it. And if they don’t like it they can always pop in Renaldo & Clara when they get home. But one thing we do know: as good as Chalamet may be, he’s no Cate Blanchett.
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Why do ppl have to distract & ruin everything everyone works so hard on before u u have even seen it but I guess it doesn’t matter bc u r intent to hate it . I can tell by your writing I will hate it your a pompous old hater. Instead of applauding a real written story for a change oh no let’s trash it ppl say Gen Z is negative
Been a hardcore Bob fan for 40 years, I’ve watched this trailer about 10 times since it came out and literally get chills every time. I’m sure you think you’re very interesting, but don’t shit on my parade, particularly before it even starts. Bob fans are used to people not “getting it”.
Chalamet looks more like he’s channeling Dana Carvey than Bob.
I’m a long time fan of Dylan.Saw him live 3 times 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue Tour, &’78 &2001.
Chalamet looks and sounds and has Dylan’s quirky smile n attitude down imho.
I’ve loved ‘the Bob’ since 1962. (I was 15/16) Seen him in person about a dozen times since 1966. Last time was mid 2018, after his Nobel in Lit. ……..(which I predicted he would get one day in 1963/4). Everybody laughed at me. (he who laughs last laughs best) You’d have to handcuff me and drag me in chains to see this new film. I’d lose my frigging mind! I’d bet Bob won’t bother watching it either except for a few hilarious laughs. The entire concept itself is deranged, sick and a sick money grab. The people that made it and performed in it and were any part of it are sick fucked up money hungry idiot puppies.
Wtf is with this arbitrary negativity? You haven’t even seen it you twat. What douchebag wrote this garbage, Ebenezer Scrooge? How can you be so hateful towards something you can’t even SEE yet?! Laughable & desperately grasping at attention like a crying baby, screaming into the void that you are a writer, only proving you’re not. The absolute lowest form of creative depravity. Bottom barrel crap writing from the worst kind of bad vibe degenerate who couldn’t get real jobs as real writers.
Thank you for such an even-handed response.
Your reply is reminiscent of the flack ‘the Bob’ took from many quarters before, I would surmise, you were even born. Good luck in your writing career. And no, I haven’t seen the ‘film’ and never will, like I said. But I’ve seen a couple of the advance ‘trailers’. That was enough near fantasy for me to be able to possibly endure the entire film. And why would I even bother? I was there in my ‘life and times as an adult’. ….Still am in a way. The film might work to influence some Gen Zee’ers and that’s ok, I guess. But I don’t think the films I saw about Julius Caesar or Cleopatra or Davy Crockett when I was a little kid portray the feel or reality of the real times as as the people alive at the time would grasp. ….As far as the ‘bob’ himself goes, I did predict he would receive the ‘Nobel’ in lit. one day a full 53 years before he actually did. And like I said, everybody laughed at me for saying so. And my prediction did materialize. ……I have another prediction that I have held for years. I, nor anyone taking the time to read this palaver in this response to the vitriol I received due to my comments about the ‘film’ last night, will be around to ‘pat me on the back’. My prediction is that ‘Mr. Bob Dylan’ will one day, far far in the future will be a member of that very small and elite pantheon of the ten or so people that almost everyone on the globe has, if nothing else, has at least, heard of. People like Leonardo Da Vinci, Shakespeare, Michelangelo, Mozart, Beethoven, Aristotle, Plato, Newton, Rembrandt……..names that ‘ring’ for hundreds and many more years. There’s only ever a handful. Mr. Bob will go down as the greatest ‘down to earth’ minstrel poet balladeer ever to walk the earth. At least for a long long long time……..unless that ‘Hard Rain’ he wrote and sang about over 62 years ago comes about.
I am not a fan of Bob Dylan’s music, but I will see this because of Timothee. He is a phenomenal actor. I hope I learn something about Bob Dylan and perhaps find appreciation.
I suggest you keep in mind what Mr Dylan said when an interviewer politely challenged him about the historical inaccuracies in his song about the sinking of the Titanic: “It’s a song, not a documentary.”
I really do hate pieces like this. Trying to get attention by saying things designed solely to stir things up. As others have said, how can you judge something you haven’t seen? As with all things, some will love and some will hate. It’s called art, and it’s a personal thing. This writer’s opinion is just that. But for some reason his is able to be published. But ultimately, it’s totally irrelevant. Just one man’s opinion. Me? Can’t wait. My Christmas present this year. But as with all things Dylan, people question and criticise, instead of accepting him for the genius he is. Why did people need attention based in attacking others. But hey, that’s America!
We have unleashed the anger of the Bob Dylan Internet.