‘A Complete Unknown’: James Mangold’s most overrated movie
In recent years, it feels as though we’ve been inundated with biopics and ‘based on true stories’ movies. Many cinema-goers now feel overexposed to the lives of people they never cared about in the first place, while those shrouded in genuine mystery remain unexplored. Meanwhile, the film industry continues to find new ways to put problematic male artists on pedestals, often examining them with a glaring lack of nuance or criticism—reaffirming the tired notion that such behaviour is excusable when you’re a so-called creative genius.
With the release of A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan biopic directed by James Mangold, I can’t help but question the relevance of this genre as a whole—especially given the baffling amount of praise for what is, at best, a completely average film.
The hype around the latest Timothée Chalamet picture has been enormous and borderline invasive, with an extensive marketing campaign that has seeped into every corner of this wretched industry. I kid you not, but I went into a well-known fragrance store over the weekend and was shocked to see a promotional corner for the biopic in the corner of the room.
While this would perhaps be warranted if the film were completely spectacular, what truly irks me about this marketing buzz is that the film is distinctly mediocre and unremarkable, with a campaign cleverly designed to brainwash people into thinking it is something it isn’t, which given the number of Oscar nominations, has worked.
Dylan was a famously elusive and mysterious character who preferred to stay out of the spotlight and shared very little information about his personal life. This could be an interesting film idea if we were given information contradicting this perception, with details about his inner world that allowed us to see a more three-dimensional view of such a mystical figure.
However, I came away from the film feeling as though it would have been better if the singer had been left unknown. His personality is revealed to be distinctly dull and actually quite insufferable, with nothing interesting about his inner world or personal life to justify a two-hour film.
We’ve been told by adverts and award shows alike that the film offers a unique insight into the man behind the music. In reality, however, it’s little more than a pointless retelling of mundane events that eventually led to Dylan’s rise to fame—meandering from one concert to the next without any distinctiveness to justify such an extensive story. Just because someone excels at their craft doesn’t necessarily make them an interesting person—or warrant a film about their life.
While Dylan has made some great songs, this is not a good enough story to flesh out an entire script, and the film remains as one of the most overrated biopics I’ve ever seen. Perhaps the mystery behind this man is the basis of his appeal, and once you get to know the person underneath, you realise that he’s just as normal as anyone else and there is no justification for the endless praise around a completely mediocre film.
