James Mangold finished filming A Complete Unknown, his Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet, at the end of June. A mere five months later, on a chilly Wednesday evening in Los Angeles, the writer-director unveiled the movie publicly for the first time. Across two concurrent screenings on the Fox lot, with hundreds of voters and journalists in attendance, the film became the final major Oscar contender to premiere this cycle—emerging as a strong contender at that.
I’m David Canfield, and I had a chance to see the film last week ahead of Wednesday’s big unveiling, where I moderated a few Q&As with Mangold, stars Elle Fanning and Monica Barbaro, and below-the-line contenders Arianne Phillips(costumes) and François Audouy (production design). It struck me as an instant, significant player, propelled by superb staging and performing of Dylan’s early classics and a smartly contained framing of one of pop culture’s most brilliant but enigmatic figures. (The movie is set from 1961, when Dylan first arrived in New York, to 1965.) Voters I spoke with after the screenings agreed—already, this one is resonating.
So how does A Complete Unknown complicate an already profoundly complicated Oscar race? There remains a great deal of uncertainty as to how the best picture, director, and screenplay fields will shake out for starters, and this movie may contend for each of those awards. Chalamet, currently wrapping production on another movie in New York, is flat-out brilliant as Dylan and should be considered a front-runner in the best actor race alongside Ralph Fiennes and Adrien Brody. Barbaro (who plays Joan Baez) and Edward Norton(who plays Pete Seeger) are potential sleeper nominees in the supporting races. But the movie is still working within the familiar confines of a genre that Mangold helped define with his Oscar-winning Walk the Line. Just how strongly will this rapidly transforming Academy embrace something so traditional?
The general energy around Hollywood, coming off of the Governors Awards and as we approach Thanksgiving, is very high—without many locks, campaigning and screening make a big difference. I’ve been at events every day this week. As I talk with colleagues and Academy members, I’ve found each person listing a different favorite movie or performance. We can add A Complete Unknown to that long list. And hey, it’s the weekend of Glicked, or Wickiator, or whatever we’re calling it—meaning two behemoths in the race this year are about to make their official landing too.
With December around the corner, it feels like we know everything and nothing about the Oscar race. The pace will calm a bit headed into next week’s holiday, but the moviegoing hopefully won’t. There’s too much good stuff to get in on.
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