Alex B Cann Film column - 23rd January 2025

I have to confess there are some things in life that baffle me, such as the appeal of Gavin and Stacey, people who put their feet on the seats on trains and don't move their bag even when you politely ask if you can sit down, selfish parkers at the supermarket, and Bob Dylan's music. The latter is an stubborn stance I may need to revisit after watching A Complete Unknown, starring Timothee Chalamet as a young Dylan, arriving in New York in 1961 with little more than a guitar

Chalamet's performance is fantastic, and the storyline is based on the book Dylan Goes Electric, covering a four year period in which he becomes super famous and writes songs that are still widely regarded as classics some six decades later. Monica Barbaro is particularly memorable as Joan Baez, and I loved the scene where they appear together on stage at Newport Folk Festival to perform It Ain't Me Babe. As ex lovers, the lyrics are particularly stinging and recriminatory. "You're kind of an a******, Bob", as Baez remarks at one point.

Elle Fanning also stars as Bob's girlfriend Sylvie Russo, and realises when she's about to jet off to Europe on a study trip that she barely knows anything about Dylan's background. The real Bob has apparently declared won't be watching the film, and given he didn't turn up to accept the Nobel Prize in Literature, that seems entirely plausible. The scene in which the Rhode Island crowd become angry at Dylan's use of electric guitars at a folk festival is a highlight, and the 140 minute running time whizzes by. Chalamet has the vocals spot on too.

It's a story of an enigmatic star who spurns being pigeonholed into one particular genre, and plays the songs he wants to play, not necessarily those the audience expects. Perhaps ploughing his own furrow is the secret to Dylan's remarkable longevity. I'm sure the answer to that might be found blowin' in the wind.

Maria is a film that's made by the star quality of Angelina Jolie, as the script and screenplay were a little all over the place. Jolie alone is worth the ticket price though, and I was reminded of Celine Dion's struggles with her voice as documented in a recent Amazon Prime Video documentary. Maria Callas's final days in Paris are interspersed with flashbacks to some of her biggest stage performances, and much like a tragic opera, we know from the start that it's going to be a sad ending to this story.

The Parisian autumn leaves and sunshine have never looked more beautiful, and I liked the line "make me an appointment with a hairdresser who doesn't speak". Diva behaviour mixed with a real fragility under the surface, this was one of Angleina Jolie's best performances in my book. An opulent movie that looked great on the big screen.

Bob Dylan and Maria Callas...what a duet that would have made. Next week, Here, Flight Risk and Presence.