Covers of Bob Dylan are nothing new. Covers of Dylan from Timothée Chalamet, the actor portraying the great songwriter in A Complete Unknown is a soft surprise. Where it should not stun listeners, it does come as a bold move. The film may not be released until the new year for those suffering in England but the soundtrack, where Chalamet does his best impersonation of Dylan, is out. That shall tide us over. Where it will never be a first choice for listeners, the soundtrack release where actors cover artists they portray, is nothing special. But this is Dylan. Chalamet embodies Dylan, or at least tries to. We must make do with this for the time being – essentially a vocal sample and an indication of how well he fits the tracks. Elton John received the same with Taron Egerton. The Beatles too, though not with a Robert-Carlyle-as-John-Lennon horror.
Good luck and godspeed to Chalamet, a man who already has one group of insane, hungry fans after him. With Dylan lovers too now entering the fray, he has a high bar to meet. The likeness is not there, nor is his voice. All it depends on is his dedication to the role – and turning up in a blonde wig to replicate a rather out-there Dylan look suggests he knows plenty of lore to the man he portrays. Whether James Mangold is going to fit that depth into his by-the-books biopic is yet to be seen. Shorter versions of classic tracks from Dylan’s discography are fair game for Chalamet. A taster session of his vocal experiences though little of brilliant or essential moments. There is a worrying selection of those who will prefer these recordings to the originals. They will reveal themselves eventually.
All the hits are there, and all for sampling. To get a feel for how Chalamet may fare. All we have in this rotten land are clips and a lack of context. But hear the whistle of Highway 61 Revisited and feel the bait of familiarity. It follows through to Mr. Tambourine Man too but is cut by half and lacks the fiery tone of the original. It is not that replication is the order of business here, but it should be. Those are the effective parts of Dylan which I’m Not There got so right – but the Todd Haynes feature never suggested itself as a direct adaptation. It played fast and loose with the truth like Dylan. Monica Barbaro is mixed in here with a few pieces of Joan Baez’s work. Nothing remarkable but no flubs, either. The same goes for Chalamet.
From Silver Dagger to The Times They Are A-Changin’, it is great to hear the cast having fun. Boyd Holbrook with Big River is a neat treat. But hearing a cast have fun is not the same as having a great time yourself. Chalamet sounds fine. Not too far off what a decent cover of Dylan sounds like. With a few instrumental changes the likes of Like a Rolling Stone sound like lazy pub rock covers. Better than nothing. A Complete Unknown is banking on star power, not the likeness. Nothing to wince at, nothing to applaud, just the sort of noise you should expect when adapting the life of a musician. It is sweet to hear Chalamet give what is no doubt his all, to a film which is trying tirelessly to make sense of what cannot be put to film in anything that isn’t a vignette or unhinged, niche portrayal. A Complete Unknown is no disaster, it just leaves a lot to be desired from the man tipped as the new face of Dylan.
