James Mangold and Timothée Chalamet do not claim to elucidate the Bob Dylan mystery, but to offer the portrait of a composer who has become the voice of his generation.
In 1961, when Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) arrived in New York, it was to meet his idol, Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy), in the hospital and suffering from Huntington's disease, in order to sing to him Song To Woody. It is at his bedside that he meets Pete Seeger (Edward Norton, perfect), also a folk singer.
PHOTO MACALL POLAY, FOURNIE PAR SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES.
Hosted by Sylvie Russo (played by Elle Fanning and whose name was changed at the request of Dylan himself; Suze Rotolo is the young woman who appears on the cover of his album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan), he almost instantly crosses paths with Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro, luminous), with whom he will maintain a romantic relationship marked by a professional competition. If he quickly achieved notoriety (we will notice the parallel with his interpreter), selling albums, performing on stage, notably at the Newport Folk Festival, it is less the star which is studied than man.
Through the prism of its central relationships with two women, the screenplay by James Mangold and Jay Cocks, based on the book Dylan Goes Electric! by Elijah Wald, attempts to penetrate the psychology of the taciturn composer. One might think, wrongly, thatA complete stranger is an analysis of how Dylan moved away from traditional folk music to electric instruments. But by choosing this musical turning point, the feature film paints the portrait of a generation which provokes protest and forces change.
PHOTO MACALL POLAY, FOURNIE PAR SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES.
Timothée Chalamet has accustomed us to nuanced and complex roles. Of his obsessed lover Elio in Call me by your name to Lee's wandering cannibal Bones and Allto the happy Wonka of Willy Wonkaup to the messianic Paul Atreides in both Dune by Denis Villeneuve, the 28-year-old actor has the remarkable ability to transform himself into any character and to embrace the spirit of the times in order to make his portrait always relevant and in tune with reality. From Bob Dylan, he chooses to explore charisma, this way he seduces crowds and individuals, and this conviction in his talent. It neither explains nor justifies, following to the letter the scenario ofA complete stranger (the words A Complete Unknown being taken from the song Like A Rolling Stone), the feature film only wanting to capture the essence of a man who knew how to remain mysterious despite everything.
But this mystery, as the images of Dylan on his motorcycle suggest, may not be one. Bob Dylan is perhaps just a composer who values only one thing: his creative freedom, without compromise.
Rating: 4 out of 5
A complete stranger will hit provincial screens on December 25.
