First Look: Timothée Chalamet Sings in Bob Dylan Biopic Trailer

James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, has released its first trailer featuring Timothée Chalamet’s rendition of the iconic Dylan voice. This marks the public’s initial opportunity to hear Chalamet singing as Bob Dylan, a highly anticipated moment for fans and critics alike.

The trailer starts with Dylan (Chalamet) being introduced to a small audience. A character narrates, “A few months back, my friend Woody Guthrie and I, we met a young man, he dropped in on us out of nowhere and played us a song. In that moment, we got a feeling we were getting a glimpse of the future.” Following this introduction, Chalamet performs “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.” His voice closely mimics Dylan’s, yet retains a touch of Chalamet’s unique sound.

The trailer strategically avoids too many direct shots of Chalamet as Dylan, often opting for side or rear views. During a montage, Dylan begins to fall for Sylvie Russo, played by Elle Fanning, while Monica Barbaro’s Joan Baez is depicted, suggesting a possible love triangle. A quick look at Edward Norton as Pete Seeger adds to the intrigue.

By the end of the trailer, Chalamet has fully transformed into Bob Dylan, complete with the iconic sunglasses and frizzy hair, smoking a cigarette. His only line of dialogue in the trailer is a raspy-voiced remark to an impressed audience after performing a song: “That’s all I’ve got so far,” to which a young girl responds, “Good start.” The trailer concludes with the opening notes of “Like a Rolling Stone,” hinting at the biopic’s deeper connection to Dylan’s legacy.

A Complete Unknown, directed by James Mangold and co-written with Jay Cocks, is adapted from Elijah Wald’s 2015 book, Dylan Goes Electric!. The film focuses on Dylan’s controversial shift to electrically amplified music and will explore aspects of his personal life, including his romantic entanglements.

According to the official synopsis from Searchlight, “Set in the influential New York music scene of the early 60s, A Complete Unknown follows 19-year-old Minnesota musician Bob Dylan’s (Timothée Chalamet) meteoric rise as a folk singer to concert halls and the top of the charts – his songs and mystique becoming a worldwide sensation – culminating in his groundbreaking electric rock and roll performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.”

Timothée Chalamet not only stars in the film but also serves as a producer. The movie is distributed by Searchlight Pictures. Alongside Chalamet, the cast includes Monica Barbaro, Elle Fanning, Edward Norton, Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash, P.J. Byrne, and Scoot McNairy.

This venture into the world of Bob Dylan is not Mangold’s first biographical project. He previously directed the critically acclaimed Girl, Interrupted and Walk the Line, the 2005 Johnny Cash biopic. Walk the Line starred Joaquin Phoenix as Cash, earning him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, while Reese Witherspoon won the Best Actress award for her role in the film.

Mangold’s filmography also includes 3:10 to Yuma, Logan, and Ford v Ferrari. His most recent work before A Complete Unknown was Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Source: Associated Press