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Chalamet: "A Complete Unknown"

 "A Complete Unknown" seems weirdly prudish, especially since its subject is a sexy writer:


Kick your shoes off, do not fear.
And bring that bottle over here.
Cause I'll be your baby tonight.

Given that this movie is centered on not one but two sexual relationships, it would be useful to see the lead characters "behaving" in bed. Also, since Bob Dylan is such an asshole, the bedroom scenes might help to explain his appeal. But the camera gets shy. It's like we're watching a high-school production of the Bob Dylan story.

That said, the part of the movie that really interests me (and interests most viewers) is the story of Dylan and Johnny Cash. Though the movie doesn't have time for Dylan's literary training, a brief Internet search reveals that Dylan is fond of Rimbaud, "The Odyssey," Brecht, "All Quiet on the Western Front," T.S. Eliot, William Blake, "Moby Dick." He arrives in New York with these particular voices--Melville's voice, Blake's voice--in his head. So this is a clue to the scope of his ambition. The listening public wants just one thing from him (and this reality is irritating). It's Johnny Cash who sort of rescues Dylan.

Cash sends a piece of fan mail to Dylan--a confession that Dylan's album has been a source of renewal for Cash. When Dylan complains that America "doesn't want to hear" his new ideas, Cash says, "I want to hear those ideas." He then fluffs Dylan's ego in a new way, with some advice. "Track your mud on someone's carpet."

Because Cash is such a weirdo, and the performance is so magnetic, the entire movie perks up whenever the Cash/Dylan friendship becomes its subject.

I would have liked to see more of this--and maybe less of Elle Fanning.
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