The James Mangold film “A Complete Unknown” entered theaters on Christmas Day as the firstcrown89, or at least the most straightforward, biopic ever made about one of American pop culture’s most enduring yet perplexing figures: Bob Dylan, played by Timothée Chalamet.
The movie traces the dramatic early years of Dylan’s career, when he emerged in the 1960s as a star of the New York-centered folk revival scene and then (to quote the man himself) threw it all away by making electric rock ’n’ roll — most ostentatiously from the stage of the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, a performance that provides the film’s climax.
The beats of this story are well known by some — and extremely well known by those so well versed in the intricacies of the Nobel Prize winner’s life and career that they are known as Dylanologists. Two such passionate Dylan fans discussed “A Complete Unknown” over video chat: Lucy Sante, the author of “Six Sermons for Bob Dylan,” whose own memoir, “I Heard Her Call My Name,” was published last February; and Ian Grant, a host of “Jokermen,” a podcast founded to elevate Dylan’s musical output following the celebrated period covered by the film, and “Never Ending Stories,” a podcast about Dylan concerts.
“If I were going to make or fund the Bob Dylan movie, I would focus on literally any other period of Bob Dylan’s career,” Grant said.
“Dylan’s career goes on and multiplies exponentially. But this is a movie,” Sante replied. “I think any filmmaker would choose this period, because for cinematic purposes and also for the purposes of informing the public about this giant enigma in American culture, you need to establish the premises first.”
“The promise of America, and I mean this sincerely, is big enough for everyone to succeed,” Mr. Biden said. “And there’s been no more important voice for that truth in the Black community than our H.B.C.U.s.”
These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
ImageChalamet (as Dylan) with Elle Fanning, who plays a version of the singer’s real-life girlfriend in the 1960s, Suze Rotolo.Credit...Searchlight PicturesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.
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