As a seasoned cinema aficionado who has spent countless hours immersed in the rich tapestry of music biopics, I must say that “A Complete Unknown” stands out as a captivating and refreshing addition to the genre. It deftly navigates the complexities of Bob Dylan’s journey through the Greenwich Village folk scene, striking a balance between historical accuracy and creative license that resonates deeply.
As a passionate movie reviewer, let me share my thoughts on “A Complete Unknown”. This film daringly ventures into fictional territory, weaving scenarios that might not have transpired historically, yet effectively convey larger themes about Bob Dylan. One such scene, which stands out for its audaciousness, portrays the Cuban Missile Crisis unfolding in New York City. Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro) is depicted in a state of panic, hurriedly packing her belongings and attempting to hail a taxi. However, the tension escalates when she’s lured into the Gaslight Cafe by Dylan’s melodious voice. In a dramatic turn of events, he takes center stage to perform “Masters of War”, expressing his anti-war sentiments passionately. Following the performance, he shares an intense moment with Baez, hinting at a romantic entanglement, despite being in a committed relationship at the time. This scene, while not historically accurate, powerfully captures the spirit and emotion of that tumultuous era.
In my perspective as an appreciative viewer, the less appealing variant of “Complete Unknown” might have been overly saturated with such cheesy elements. For instance, if Timmy’s portrayal of Bob continued to emulate Forrest Gump by traversing through the early ’60s, it could have resulted in a puzzled audience frequently questioning, “Who wrote this song?!!”. However, what truly makes this movie captivating is the immediate aftermath of that scene where Baez calls Dylan out on his exaggerations. After they’ve woken up together, they engage in a deep conversation about music and their respective journeys learning to play guitar. In his affected, seemingly placeless accent, Dylan shares his past experiences working at a traveling carnival and learning peculiar chords from a nomadic cowboy named “Wigglefoot”. What’s striking is Baez’s blunt response to this: “You’re full of it.” This unexpected challenge to Dylan’s self-mythologizing beatnik image leaves him momentarily taken aback.
The film, titled “Complete Unknown“, traces the tumultuous relationship between Dylan and Baez over a turbulent period from 1961 to 1965, showcasing their journey from mutual admirers to a time when Baez boosted Dylan’s career by covering his songs. However, as Dylan’s stardom skyrocketed, it surpassed what both of them had anticipated. The movie also portrays their on-and-off romance, with the main conflict being Dylan’s uncooperative behavior and Baez’s struggle to create music in comparison to Dylan’s prolific songwriting.
Regardless of the factual adjustments made by the movie about their relationship, it effectively carries on one of the most compelling themes from significant Dylan documentaries such as D.A. Pennebaker’s “Dont Look Back” and Martin Scorsese’s films, “No Direction Home” and “Rolling Thunder Revue”, which together stand out as the finest cinematic portrayals of Dylan’s enigma. In each case, Baez challenges Dylan’s legend-building in ways that are not only amusing but crucial for revealing the truth behind his smokescreens. Throughout his career spanning over six decades, Dylan’s legacy has become so versatile that it can accommodate almost anything thrown at it. An unexpected turn to Christian music? Absolutely. Skipping the ceremony to receive his Nobel Prize? Naturally. Recording a song for a pro-Reagan movie but not his own biopic? Just another day in Bob’s life. In many instances, Dylan himself has been the mastermind behind these scenarios, manipulating our perceptions and hiding any glimpses of who he truly is. Fortunately, Baez has always had the ability to break through this facade.
In “Dont Look Back,” Pennebaker’s 1967 documentary (now available for free on the Criterion Channel), follows Bob Dylan during his 1965 England tour, a period just before the conclusion of A Complete Unknown. The film captures Dylan at his most prickly, as he explores the concept of fame as an act and engages in verbal sparring matches with any journalist who attempts to categorize him. During one scene, Dylan sits in the backseat of a car, wearing sunglasses and reading a newspaper with a headline about himself on the front page, occasionally conversing with musician John Mayall who is squeezed into the middle seat. Meanwhile, Baez, donning a cowboy hat, lounges on the other side eating a banana and appearing quite disinterested. Amidst their muffled conversation, Baez hums a few lines of Dylan’s latest song “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” replacing the word ‘fire’ with ‘banana.’ The exchange goes unremarked upon by others, yet Pennebaker cleverly focuses on Baez, emphasizing this as one of the rare instances in the documentary where Dylan is being playfully teased rather than doing the teasing. (It’s worth noting that their romantic relationship ended after the tour.)
In other contexts, Baez has challenged Dylan’s legend in less humorous manners, such as in “No Direction Home”, where she is one of several individuals clarifying that he was actually quite apolitical, contrary to his cultural image as a key figure in the civil-rights movement and ’60s youth politics. During demonstrations, Baez recalls, young people would frequently ask her about Dylan’s whereabouts, only for her to inform them that he “rarely” attends such events (She also performs an impressive impersonation of him in the documentary, a skill she has effectively utilized during live performances.).
In the closing credits of “A Complete Unknown“, the movie wraps up its storyline involving Joan Baez in a neat manner, mentioning that she later penned one of her most famous songs, “Diamonds and Rust”, inspired by her relationship with Dylan. Interestingly, in reality, they haven’t met since 1984 following a failed reunion tour attempt. However, they have both spoken fondly of each other in various documentaries. In an interview with “Variety” during the promotion of her 2023 documentary “Joan Baez: I Am a Noise“, Baez shared that she let go of any resentment towards Dylan after recalling a portrait she had drawn of him when he was young and revisiting his early music. She wrote him a letter, she stated, expressing how all the past disagreements simply faded away. “I may never see him again,” she said, “and that’s alright too.
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2024-12-25 17:54