The Reel Review
The meteoric rise of Bob Dylan, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters of all time, and who transformed American folk music during the politically turbulent early 1960s, is examined in this biopic starring Timothée Chalamet, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro and Edward Norton.
Most importantly, Timothée Chalamet gives a transformative performance as Dylan, channeling his look and distinct cadence without coming off as mimicry. Also incredible – Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez. The two actors sing the iconic songs themselves and it is impressive. The highlights of the cigarette smoke-filled film (there is smoking in nearly every scene) are the awe-inspiring moments when the two perform together, despite having a complicated relationship off stage. The film also doesn’t shy away from portraying Dylan as a selfish jerk in his romantic relationships, openly cheating on his girlfriend (played by Elle Fanning) with Baez.
Just as he did in the 2005 Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, co-writer/director James Mangold again mines the whole creative war between folk music purists and those preferring more commercially successful music. But despite the strong performances, the story itself just isn’t as strong as his prior film and is about 30 minutes too long, but kudos for Mangold for the impeccable art direction capturing 1960’s New York City and for letting the songs breathe.
REEL FACTS
• Monica Barbaro played the role of Lt. Natasha “Phoenix” Trace in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick. Side note: she was the only person on the otherwise all-male cast of aviators who didn’t throw up during the G-force training prior to filming.
• The Elle Fanning role of first girlfriend Sylvie Russo was based on Suze Rotolo. Dylan asked that her name be changed in the movie out of respect for her, because Rotolo was not a public figure. Rotolo died from lung cancer in 2011 at the age of 67.
• The famous “Judas” moment at the Newport Folk Festival at the end of the film actually happened a year later at a performance in Manchester, England.
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