A Complete Unknown Review

Movie Poster: A Complete Unknown. Searchlight Pictures.

Honestly, I was a little skeptical about going to see this one. After watching a few interviews with cast members, along with some positive feedback from family and friends who had seen it, I figured I would give it a chance!

I’m glad I did, too, as it pleasantly surprised me in ways I probably wasn’t expecting. In my mind, I was almost sure it was just going to be another forced-fed woke sandwich. You know, just another biopic that would be rewriting history and deleting all of today's taboo words and cigarette smoke from our past. None of which was true, though; on the contrary, you will probably have cancer by the time you’re finished watching it!

I have to say, with the live performances and all the music coming from the actors themselves (especially Timothée Chalamet as Dylan) it gives the film a rawness that I truly appreciated and don’t see very often on the big screen. If you're unfamiliar with director James Mangold's previous work, he also did the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line.

Overall, one of my favorite things about this movie was the onscreen chemistry between Chalamet and Monica Barbaro, who does a fantastic job playing a young Joan Baez. Edward Norton’s subdued portrayal of Pete Seeger is brilliant as well, all Oscar-worthy performances. I didn’t necessarily like Boyd Holbrook’s portrayal of Johnny Cash, but he is undoubtedly a much better singer than Joaquin Phoenix and fits the required age range!

It's probably not a film for everyone, especially not the instant gratification seekers. If you’re interested in a movie with a truly authentic set design and amazing period coverage though, A Complete Unknown is a decent choice for an artsy flick.

All the while, you also get to learn about someone who dared to have the courage to break the social norms of the day. This ultimately helped usher in a new generation of rock & roll and fostered most of the artistic freedom enjoyed today.

Worth checking out - Robbie