A Complete (Unknown) Update With James Mangold
“It’s about a guy who’s choking to death in Minnesota…” is what James Mangold told Bob Dylan when he first asked about A Complete Unknown.
Now, he’s gifted, us, with a more complete update.
Rolling Stone Magazine recently published an in-depth interview with James Mangold, the director of the upcoming film, A Complete Unknown. The film stars Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, Elle Fanning as Suse Rotolo, reinvented as Sylvie Russo for the films’ purposes, and Edward Norton as Pete Seeger, a long-time musical influence of Dylan’s.
A Complete Unknown is set to begin with a young Dylan’s arrival to New York City in the early 1960s and ends soon after his transformative performances at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.
In the interview, Mangold recounts Chalamet’s performance, the film’s evolving vision, and more. Here are some of the highlights and must-knows:
James Mangold had previously stated that the film wasn’t to be miscategorized as a biopic— he referred to it as a “strong ensemble piece.” This statement still stands. It would be impossible to reduce a man as incrementally revolutionary as Bob Dylan to a “simple epiphany.”
Mangold delves deep into Dylan’s development and the effect that his surroundings had on him. Thus, Monica Barbaro’s and Edward Norton’s characters are the opposite of trivial. There is no one way to define A Complete Unknown, but Mangold raises the 1984 film “Amadeus,” with Mozart as the title character, as being similar in terms of structure.
Regarding temporal parameters, Mangold mentioned that upon receiving the screenplay from writer Jay Cocks, he remembers being instantly captivated by the philosophy behind the film’s chosen time frame. “it’s kind of fable: that there was this village and one day this young man arrived, and he goes to meet the dying leader of the music he worships, and he meets his second lieutenant, who takes him in and gives this young man who has talent a chance to sing himself. And suddenly this young man takes off like a rocket,” the director states.
Mangold takes pride in this notion, but he also stresses how much of an evolutionary process this was. The creative individuals that ultimately brought the film’s vision to life, were at liberty to “do their thing” within the offered confines.
Although a risky choice, considering Dylanologists are a critical fandom, Mangold decided to not just have his actors act, but sing as well. Mangold addressed that the cast was a brave partner in committing to a musical journey as well.
As it turns out, however, the fans are quite pleased with the sneak peek performances they’ve seen so far. According to Variety, even professional Dylanogolists are content.
Showed my grandma the trailer for a great unknown and she’s the biggest Bob Dylan fan and she approves of Timothée and his singing so the discussion of whether he did a good job or not is over thank u!
— ash (@ashmp1996) August 2, 2024
Timothee Chalamet’s Bob Dylan singing voice is really good pic.twitter.com/wo8BHlRpcX
— cinephile frasier (@crasierfrane_) July 25, 2024
Regarding Chalamet, in particular, Mangold touches on the fact that Chalamet really grows into his character. “Timmy really carries this character from a 19-year-old boy telling tales of working on the carnival into this person that we recognize as an icon,” he explains. But, nonetheless, he doesn’t lose himself in his act. It is almost as if Chalamet made friends with this fictitious Bob Dylan, and picked up his mannerisms and ways of being, whilst ultimately remaining true to himself.
Mangold hinted that the film is set to be in theaters in December, but nothing concrete has been confirmed. The film’s first teaser trailer was recently released. In the meantime, we suggest you brush up on both Mangold’s filmography and Dylan’s discography.
You can watch the trailer for James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown below.
