After more than a year of on-set paparazzi photos and red carpet interviews, Searchlight Pictures on Wednesday morning released the trailer for director James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic, “A Complete Unknown.”
In addition to showing off his physical transformation into the music icon, he offered a quick sample of his voice. The actor sings Dylan's 1963 anti-war song “A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall,” which divided the Internet, just as his casting announcement did.
“Stranger Things” star and Dylan superfan Jamie Campbell Bower posted on X to share her support for Chalamet.
“As a man who has Bob Dylan tattooed on his butt, I can safely say I am VERY excited for Chalamet as Dylan after watching the trailer,” Bower wrote.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, director and co-writer Mangold praised Chalamet's performance and his ability to embody Dylan.
“There were also times when it felt like something was being channeled,” he said. “I don’t mean imitation, but a feeling.”
Chalamet's fan account Club Chalamet shared their support for the X-rated star.
“Oscar experts, start adding Timothée Chalamet to your predictions! Wow!” the fan page wrote.
Some users were not entirely convinced by the “Dune” star’s song.
“Sorry, but that’s not just Bob Dylan, that’s Timothy Chalamet,” wrote one user.
Another user echoed the same sentiment.
“The singing is fine, but then he starts talking and I think it’s literally Timothy,” the account wrote. “He doesn’t move.”
Chalamet says only a few words in the trailer. “That’s all I have so far,” he says after playing “A Hard Rain” for his family.
In his interview with Rolling Stone, Mangold made it clear that Chalamet did not try to imitate Dylan.
“There’s sometimes a perception that what we’re doing is a perfect replication of the human voice and physicality. We can’t do that. Not with human bodies,” he said. “What you have to try to do is do what movies do well, which is unravel the emotional dynamics of these people. And even then, it’s just my version of that.”
Mangold is no stranger to musical biopics. In 2005’s “Walk the Line,” Joaquin Phoenix took on the role of country singer Johnny Cash, ultimately earning him an Oscar nomination. Phoenix also sang for the film.
Mangold says the trailer is just the beginning. Viewers will have to see the full film to appreciate Chalamet's performance.
“It's going to be impossible for people to see it in the trailers, teasers or photos, but the way he develops this character is a true act of acting brilliance in my opinion,” Mangold said.
“I like this,” one X user said of the trailer. “It reminds me of how Joaquin Phoenix didn’t sound exactly like @JohnnyCash, but he sounded good.”
“Timothée Chalamet sings Bob Dylan without imitating Bob Dylan, but rather being someone who shows his vulnerability and is masterfully able to convey emotions,” another user posted. “I’m on my knees.”
“A Complete Unknown” is not Chalamet’s first foray into musicals. Last year, Chalamet played the titular Willy Wonka in the “Wonka” origin story, set before the events of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”
“A Complete Unknown,” which hits theaters in December, follows the folk icon’s career and begins with the singer’s arrival in New York City in 1961 from Minnesota. Monica Barbaro stars as Joan Baez, Elle Fanning plays Sylvie Russo and Edward Norton is Pete Seeger in the film. Boyd Holbrook, PJ Byrne, Scoot McNairy, Dan Fogler and Will Harrison round out the cast.
The film is one of several musical biopics set to be released in the coming years, including movies about Bruce Springsteen, the Beatles, Linda Ronstadt and Michael Jackson.
