This review of the Bob Dylan biopic is still under review
Ā. Completeúnk Nöwn same spelling as A COMPLETE UNKNOWN but only a visual CRIB note
Or is it a Folk Music centered GONE WITH THE WIND?
I know it’s not Dec 25th of last year. I still haven’t journaled my memories of watching the film. I will take notes on the second time watching and will finish a “review” for my own sake. Shit gets forgotten by boomers real quickly. They have a Gen Z attention span. There will be more movies to follow featuring Washington Square.
BEING FOOLISH considering my blacklist from Dylan-world, I’ll throw out a few reactions to the movie….just like everybody feels like they need to.
This one is the story of Folk Music’s Babe Ruth. Or maybe Pete was Babe Ruth….Maybe Woody for sure. And Bob was a Mickey Mantle.
Pete Seeger, in the film, represented every fatherly figure Bob needed to eat and house him for a spell. That’s a lot of people.
Albert Grossman was the only manager in the film. No other representation.
Mike Porco was a guy with no lines in the background even though he fucking kept the lights on.
And Gerde’s Emcees were the opening act back in the day. The MC in the movie was barehanded.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN
A review of the biopic
It is NOT a documentary.
If you want a documentary come hither
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
The theatrical version of Bob Dylan’s first days in New York and beyond.
The movie will take you from the backseat of Fred Underhill’s car to the outstretched road beyond the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.
In between, Bob Dylan somehow codifies and packages the ethos of a generation worried about nukes and broken justice. He walked the streets to get his credibility up.
Ā. Completeúnk Nöwn is theatres. I wish folks would be happy to see many tidbits about Dylan’s life be told in a theatrical release. Many ’stolen moments’ and pages of his NUMEROUS bios and auto bio came to life. That should be enough for the Greenwich Village-based Dylanologist. It will have to do.
Personally, I am not a fan of how the sport of Baseball in the MLB has had a clock attached to it. A hundred and 70 years of no clock. Now a clock. I’m a purist. I’ll watch BASEBALL but don’t like it UNDER THE GUN.
The Dylan biopic, however, calls out for a SETTING recreated here, a short in-STORY here and a whimsical fever dream of what-it-may-have-been like to see Dylan to navigate his personal moments somewhere else in the flick.
How he swoops up Sylvie to go on the bike all the way to Newport, RI. Or how he walked away from a girlfriend that he thought was after his fame.
There are many instances in the film that rang true to my memories of Scaduto’s or Heylin’s tomes on Bob Dylan. Different moments were hinted at or referenced.
Some topics
Johnny cash-pen pal with postcars in the Bob museum
Cigarettes- interesting that Suze was in remission when I met her. We just met, it wasn’t my business. It wasn’t public news that she was ill. We carried on like old friends. In person and on the phone, she told me that ‘we never knew how the cigarettes from back then would catch up with us.” She was giggling but not really. She probably would have told me the truth but I never thought it. She looked good. She was 66 then. I was 39. Totally would have done things for her after meeting her.
Bob Sleeping with Albert in Newport. The only time we really see bob sleep. Other than Joan making coffee in panties
Never showing emotion much. very different act on stage. pushed the limits. was he high? Never spelled out if he was ever toasted on stage but it showed twice that bob was kinda like many people. Like the song’’’’’’’Hey Mr. WAKE AND BAKE MAN roll a joint for me….’’’’
Only when he was ornery did the actor show pissiness. Or was he portraying a spectrum disorder? He messed that part up. He probably over played how pissy bob needed to be to express himself. He probably had a pissy attitude around getting paid, but with friends and lovers, I’ll bet he was laid back. They forced something into the movie to cause a rift with Bob and Joan.
Angry about songs coming to him and not others. Again….is he an angry psycho killer or just a non-autistic genius? Tim over did it.
Mike with a rag over the shoulder at Gerde’s. Gerde’s was the BELL OF THE BALL
John Porco behind the bar…. with Mike they both were turned into handsome business-like partners. Just standing there.
Schtick on stage
Actor Mumbles
Going electric in 1965 was like a heist planned…..the band showed up after dark. Bob was gone with the wind much the way he does now. From the stage to a back door of a car waiting. Next gig….
Drama throughout the film
Joan exalted
Sylvie representing others
Newport keeping movie time in years
Neuwirth Mentioning London and Bob buying a Strat (sold later for $1.3 i think)
Good job in continuation, hair, costume…
Pictures from the past brought to color -Squautting in the studio
Exact apartment.(not the light)
Exact wear and tear on the acoustic guitars
Dirty fingernails made it into a scene.
Nice tie in from a music director to link chord progressions to complete well known song hooks meshing the chords from scene to scene, the end of one song’s phrasing becomes the first two strikes in LIKE A ROLLING STONE
The inside jokes: They just want me playing blown for the rest of my life (which he did for 62 years running)
Brownie and sonny shown in detail
Dave hinted at but not obvious enough
No Clancy no Ochs (his song yes)
No Paxton terri etc
No mike other than the guy with the rag
Fffffffff
Ā. Completeúnk Nöwn
