KSL Movie Show review: ‘A Complete Unknown’ has one of the best performances of the year

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SALT LAKE CITY — It doesn’t seem fair that a 29-year-old actor (turns 30 – two days after Christmas), with enough boyish charm to light up a medium-sized city, would also be able to sing, play guitar and harmonica with a master’s touch.  Fortunately, we’re not shooting for Pavarotti here, but the person he’s trying to sound like also has a distinct voice. In other words, how dare Timothée Chalamet sound so much like Bob Dylan. It’s almost annoying that he’s so dead on. 

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The story covers Dylan’s rise to fame. From the moment he, age 19, arrives in Manhattan on a bus from Minnesota in 1961 until his shocking display of an “electric guitar” at the renowned Newport Folk Festival in 1965 – the keyword there being “folk.” Sorry, no electronics allowed.

It’s not that he didn’t have full respect for his predecessors like Woody Guthrie or Pete Seeger (played brilliantly by Edward Norton).  He just got tired of “Blowin’ in the Wind.” And had dozens of new songs in his head that he wanted to play. And play he did with “Maggie’s Farm” and “Like a Rolling Stone” to a stunned crowd filled with cheers, jeers and boos. It was said that Dylan electrified half of the audience that day and electrocuted the other.

You will also hear the music of the aforementioned Seeger, Joan Baez and Johnny Cash. All sung by the actors live with the appropriate microphones for the times. All sounded amazing. We will also meet an on-again, off-again girlfriend Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning). Who Dylan asked that the filmmakers not use her real name. 

I’d say, even if you’re not a huge fan of Bob Dylan’s music or mysterious life, I think you’ll at least appreciate one of the best performances of the year in the form of one extraordinary Timothée Chalamet. 

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN (A-) Rated R for language. 

The KSL Movie Show with Andy Farnsworth and Steve Salles airs Fridays on KSL NewsRadio from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Follow the show on Facebook, and join The KSL Movie Show Club for exclusive perks by texting MOVIE to 57500. Message and data rates may apply. Text STOP to cancel. Message frequency varies.