– Written by Jackson Skam –
As the weather drops and the air gets bitter, I can’t help but to blare a certain artist in
my ears as I walk to work or to campus. Red, orange, and yellow leaves colour the roads
and sidewalks. Even though the tunes numb my ears, I can feel them crunch under my
appropriately chosen Chelsea boots. Why can’t I hear the leaves, because none other
than Bob Dylan is playing.
Ever since I’ve started to listen to Bob Dylan, there’s always a certain period of time
when it feels truly right to hear the Voice of Protest: that being the beautiful fall. But you
can’t just listen to Bob. To really set the scene for yourself, y0u have to immerse yourself
into his music by picking out the lightest jacket you own, some blue denim, and wearing
your favourite boots. Then as you start walking towards your destination, play
something off of Freewheelin’, Highway 61, or Blonde on Blonde, put your hands in your
pockets, and because you picked out your lightest jacket you will naturally be very cold,
so raise your shoulders to conserve some heat.
And there you have it, you have perfectly recreated the vibe and look of Bob Dylan,
specifically of the Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan era. Also, depending on what song you play,
you can alter the vibe you’re really looking for. For example, if I’m in my feels, I’ll go for
“Simple Twist of Fate” (though this goes against my above 60s only albums rule –
oops!), or if I’m wanting to put a bit of pep in my step, I’ll play “Ballad of a Thin Man.”
But the reason I bring up the art of truly harnessing the Bob Dylan look and vibe is
because we await the release of Hollywood’s newest blockbuster music biopic about the
man himself, “A Complete Unknown.” Staring none other than the golden boy,
Timothee Chalamet as a young Bob Dylan in New York City, this movie is throwing its
hat into the very controversial Dylan biopic ring. “I’m Not There” was a previous
attempt by Todd Haynes to portray the many lives of Bob, taking an experimental
direction by representing him through 6 different characters, all representing different
eras and personas. This film sometimes gets some flak for its unorthodox approach to
Bob’s life, but I personally think that “I’m Not There” was a perfect way to demonstrate
the life of a musician who has not lived a single life, but multiple.
“A Complete Unknown” is trying to narrow its portrayal of Dylan’s life by focusing on
the specific period of time between his early days in New York to scandalous electric
performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. But some fans have been quite
skeptical of the traditional biopic direction being taken by filmmaker James Mangold.
As opposed to “I’m Not There”, by focusing on a specific time period and encompassing
the rough tides of Dylan’s early music career from the Voice of Protest to a contentious
rock star, some think that “A Complete Unknown” will fail in its efforts to portray the
different personas of Bob Dylan which contrasted so heavily. They fear that one actor
cannot accurately portray the more fluid public personality of Dylan which shifts so
dramatically from one year to the next.
I come from a much more optimistic standpoint. My reasoning stands mostly because of
A Complete Unknown’s lead actor, Timothee Chalamet, who has proven himself to be a
very multi-faceted artist, and I believe is capable of showing the diverse trajectories of
Bob Dylan. I never thought I’d be making this comparison ever in my life, but I think
Chalamet as Paul Atreides and Willy Wonka might make him one of the best contenders
to be Bob Dylan!
And after seeing its trailer, I have no doubt in my mind that Timothee Chalamet will
play an incredible Dylan and get some Oscar nods too. I was blown away specifically by
his Dylan voice and the fact that he is singing all the songs himself! Two standout
moments were when he was firstly performing “A Hard Rain Is Gonna Fall” in the initial
teaser trailer in which he can really find that nasally Dylan tone that sounds amazingly
true to the real thing. The next was in the release trailer where he and Joan Baez (played
by Monica Barbaro) are singing a duet to “Girl From the North Country” which is a
beautiful rendition of the iconic ballad.
Thematically with “A Complete Unknown” tackling the events from Dylan’s arrival in
New York to the 1965 Newport Folk Fest, I think this is a specific enough timeline to
really delve into the events that will come to define Dylan’s entire career. From the
trailer, we get glimpses into standout events like him going to New York to see Woody
Guthrie, meeting significant figures like Joan Baez, Sylvie Russo (and even Johnny Cash
in a Marvel style appearance), and performing at Newport Folk Fests from 1963-65.
While writing this I even saw a new promotion for the film that featured its portrayal of
the “Subterranean Homesick Blues” music video with some Chalamet vocals that I truly
could only slightly differentiate from the original.
Anyways, I think that Bob Dylan, by way of music spreading through social media and
now through Timothee Chalamet’s portrayal, has become and will increasingly become
part of the present pop culture mythos. But honestly, he’s never really left. Ever since his
beginnings as the Voice of Protest for a new generation of music listeners and activists,
Bob has never really dissipated from popular legend. While he has had his controversial
moments, he is nevertheless one of the world’s greatest voices and artists (barring his
questionable performance on the charity single “We Are The World”). Movies like “A
Complete Unknown” and the resurgence of his music through social media have only
acted as the conduits through which Dylan has been introduced to a new generation. I
would know, I was one of those who found out about Bob this way. And I think that
many more will come to love this music as much as I have.
SOUTHPORT MAGAZINE 
Leave a comment