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A major flaw of biopics in general, and music biopics specifically, is the tendency to sand down the rough edges of the person being profiled. For the most part, director and co-screenwriter James Mangold — along with co-screenwriter Jay Cocks — do a commendable job showing how the iconic Bob Dylan is not only talented but rather prickly and arrogant — a creative force with the talent and chutzpah to ennoble change. The warts-and-all approach and strong performances across the board elevate this absorbing, but overly long, look at the early professional and personal life of music legend and revered groundbreaker Bob Dylan. Above all, credit goes to Timothée Chalamet’s impressive achievement in not reducing Dylan to a caricature. Related Articles Movies | 2024 obituaries: We said a final farewell to these famous people Movies | ‘The Brutalist’ explores trauma and the immigrant experience Movies | ‘Room Next Door’ is a lively movie about death Movies | 12 sexy Christmas movies to stream this ho-ho-holiday season Movies | What to watch: Sexy new Peacock series comes with body count Another main reason “A Complete Unknown” works is that it hones in on a pivotal four-year span in Dylan’s life. It begins with Dylan’s shuffling arrival in 1961 New York with his beloved guitar and a burning desire to write and sing songs that make a difference. He meets and befriends folk music pioneers Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy) — his hero who lies bedridden in a hospital due to Huntington’s Disease — and Pete Seeger (Edward Norton), a devoted colleague and musician who steers away from the wild side of fame and prefers the confines of tradition over music evolution. It concludes with Dylan evolving into a temperamental but visionary performer who takes the stage at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival — to the dismay and outrage of organizers, including Seeger, and fans — and performs amplified versions of several songs. The re-creation of that volatile “going electric” event is the film’s crowning achievement. But other times Mangold and Cocks don’t stick the landing, resorting to shorthand when detailing the tumultuous change that’s brewing in America and leaning too heavily on shopworn storytelling techniques such as having radio and news reports flash through those game-changing events. A more intense connection linking Dylan’s impact on music to the rebellious actions of other iconic artistic and political figures would have given “A Complete Unknown” more heft and a more solid dramatic arc. Still “A Complete Unknown” is entertaining — particularly to music fans worshipping that period – and trots along in the footsteps of a dynamic Dylan as he becomes a force on the Greenwich Village music scene and soon finds his star rising as he puts his stamp on folk music and a variety of other musical genres. Unlike most music biopics, Mangold blessedly devotes much of the time to its subject actually creating music and then performing it. The film’s all the better for it. Some of the best scenes occur between Dylan and longtime Woodside resident Joan Baez (an electrifying Monica Barbaro) as those two musical forces flirt, make love, perform together and squabble bitterly. The concert sequences include a brief re-creation of the first Monterey Folk Festival in 1963, where Dylan and Baez performed. Both actors are on fire when they’re together. The challenge for an actor portraying such a distinctive superstar is to not imitate him. (Too many comedic acts have done that.) Chalamet wobbles in initial scenes, and then finds his footing — surprising us with his astonishing vocals and his ability to adopt an irascible demeanor, all but downplaying his striking good looks to become a man who doesn’t give a damn about physical appearances, except for being the epitome of someone who is anti fashion forward. Diehard Dylan fans will likely find faults with Chalamet’s smart performance, but it deserves respect. The scenes involving Guthrie, Seeger, Baez and Dylan fuel the film. Less successful are the ones that revolve around his romance with Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning) — a character described as a “surrogate” for the real-life late artist and activist Suze Rotolo – which ran from 1961 to 1964. Her role intends to put a human face on the awful burden fame imposes on those who are sidelined from the ones in the addictive spotlight, but it’s presented in a contrived manner, even though Fanning gives it her all. Ditto the walk-on role of Boyd Holbrook as an inebriated Johnny Cash. It detracts from the overhaul story. “A Complete Unknown” isn’t a complete success, but it does have musical moments that soar and performances to match. It doesn’t shed any new light on who the real Dylan is, and maybe, just maybe, we will never become privy to that. ‘A COMPLETE UNKNOWN’ 3 stars out of 4 Rating: R (language) Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro Director: James Mangold Running time: 2 hours, 21 minutes When & where: In theaters Dec. 25
Bitcoin catapulted above $100,000 for the first time on Thursday, a milestone hailed even by sceptics as a coming-of-age for digital assets as investors bet on a friendly U.S. administration to cement the place of cryptocurrencies in financial markets. Once it broke $100,000 in Thursday's Asian morning, boosted by U.S. President-elect Trump's nomination of pro-crypto Paul Atkins to run the Securities and Exchange Commission, it was soon at an all-time high of $103,649. It last fetched $98,803, up 0.95% on the day BTC=. The total value of the cryptocurrency market has almost doubled over the year so far to hit a record over $3.8 trillion, according to data provider CoinGecko. By comparison, Apple alone is worth about $3.7 trillion. Bitcoin's march from the libertarian fringe to Wall Street has minted millionaires, a new asset class and popularised the concept of "decentralized finance" in a volatile and often controversial period since its creation 16 years ago. Bitcoin has more than doubled in value this year and is up more than 50% in the four weeks since Donald Trump's sweeping election victory, which also saw a slew of pro-crypto lawmakers being elected to Congress. "CONGRATULATIONS BITCOINERS!!! $100,000!!! YOU’RE WELCOME!!! Together, we will Make America Great Again!" Trump said on Truth Social, his social media network, on Thursday. "We're witnessing a paradigm shift," said Mike Novogratz, founder and CEO of U.S. crypto firm Galaxy Digital. "Bitcoin and the entire digital asset ecosystem are on the brink of entering the financial mainstream - this momentum is fuelled by institutional adoption, advancements in tokenisation and payments, and a clearer regulatory path." Trump - who once labelled crypto a scam - embraced digital assets during his campaign, promising to make the United States the "crypto capital of the planet" and to accumulate a national stockpile of bitcoin. "We were trading basically sideways for about seven months, then immediately after Nov. 5, U.S. investors resumed buying hand-over-fist," said Joe McCann, CEO and founder of Asymmetric, a Miami digital assets hedge fund. Bitcoin's proponents cheered Trump's nomination of Atkins to the SEC. A former SEC commissioner, Atkins has been involved in crypto policy as co-chair of the Token Alliance, which works to "develop best practices for digital asset issuances and trading platforms," and the Chamber of Digital Commerce. "Atkins will offer a new perspective, anchored by a deep understanding of the digital asset ecosystem," said Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith. "We look forward to working with him ... and ushering in – together – a new wave of American crypto innovation." A slew of crypto companies including Ripple, Kraken and Circle are also jostling for a seat on Trump's promised crypto advisory council. Part of the landscape Bitcoin has proven a survivor through precipitous downturns. Its move into six-figure territory is a remarkable comeback from a dip below $16,000 in 2022 when the industry was reeling from the collapse of the FTX exchange. Founder Sam Bankman-Fried was subsequently jailed. Analysts say the growing embrace of bitcoin by big investors this year has been a driving force behind the record-breaking rally. U.S.-listed bitcoin exchange-traded funds were approved in January and have been a conduit for large-scale buying, with more than $4 billion streaming into these funds since the election. "Roughly 3% of the total supply of bitcoins that will ever exist have been purchased in 2024 by institutional money," said Geoff Kendrick, global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered. "Digital assets, as an asset class, is becoming normalised," he said. It is already becoming increasingly financialised, with the launch of bitcoin futures BTCc1 in 2017 and a strong debut for options on BlackRock's ETF IBIT.O in November. Crypto-related stocks have soared along with the bitcoin price, with shares in bitcoin miner MARA Holdings MARA.O and exchange operator Coinbase COIN.O each up around 65% in November. Software firm Microstrategy MSTO.O, which has repeatedly raised funds to buy bitcoin and held an aggregate of about 402,100 bitcoins as of Dec. 1, has gained around 540% this year. Trump himself unveiled a new crypto business, World Liberty Financial, in September, although details have been scarce and billionaire Elon Musk, a major Trump ally, is also a proponent of cryptocurrencies. Some say the asset remains a speculative or investment vehicle and not an instrument for payments. On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell likened bitcoin to gold, “only it's virtual, it's digital." "People are not using it as a form of payment, or as a store of value. It's highly volatile, it’s not a competitor for the dollar." While earlier big bitcoin rallies have been followed by significant pullbacks, its wider adoption now may help tamp down volatility, analysts said. "That is not to say that there will not be 30-50% drawdowns over time, but my base case is that the nature of the drawdowns will be less severe than what we saw in the last bear market," Sean Farrell, head of digital asset strategy at Fundstrat Global Advisors, said. "Passive flows into ETFs, a liquid options market, corporate treasury adoption, and nation state adoption will likely play a large role in dampening volatility," Farrell said. 'Who can prohibit it' Cryptocurrencies have been criticised for their massive energy consumption and use in crime around the world, and the underlying technology is far from delivering a revolution in the way money moves around the globe. The U.S. and Britain announced on Wednesday they had disrupted what they described as a global money laundering ring which used cryptocurrency to help rich Russians to evade sanctions and launder cash for drug traffickers. Although calculations vary, the Cambridge University Centre for Alternative Finance estimates bitcoin uses around the same amount of electricity each year as Poland or South Africa. Still, as Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed out at an investment conference on Wednesday: "Who can prohibit it? No one." And its longevity is perhaps testament to a degree of resilience. "As time goes by it's proving itself as part of the financial landscape," said Shane Oliver, chief economist and head of investment strategy at AMP in Sydney. "I find it very hard to value it ... it's anyone's guess. But it does have a momentum aspect to it and at the moment the momentum is up." — Reuters
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