Ty Watches "A Complete Unknown"

Yesterday my mom and I went to see "A Complete Unknown". Let’s discuss.

I was a bit skeptical going into this movie. I usually enjoy music biopics, but when it's an artist that I like, I get a little hesitant. I have yet to see the Bob Marley fictional biopic "One Love". Marley is my favorite artist of all time, I have watched documentaries about him, I have dove about as deep as one can into his music catalog. He is too important to me to watch someone else play him. I know that I would be too hypercritical about a fictional movie centered around Bob Marley. And while I adore Bob Dylan, he is not on Marley's level for me. I've also kind of fallen off a bit from music biopics. I thought the Freddy Mercury movie with Rami Malek was bad. I have not seen "Rocketman", and don't know if I'll ever see it. I rewatched "Ray" during COVID and it didn't hold up for me like the first time I saw it. I am a snob about music, and when the story is fictional and given the Hollywood treatment, I tend to tune it out. But, with a push from my mom, and my newfound fandom of Timothee Chalamet, I decided to give this one a go.

I'm glad I did. I appreciate my mom urging me to go with her. I thought this movie was excellent. I should have known with James Mangold directing that the audience was in good hands. He did great with "Walk the Line" and "Logan" is my favorite "superhero" movie. He is a good director, and he knows how to shoot musicians. Chalamet is a revelation here. He could have made his version of Dylan a cliched impression. He could have just used a funny voice and kind of walked his way through this movie. He didn't do that. As my mom said, he embodied Dylan. He became him. From his look to his voice to even playing guitar and singing the songs himself, Chalamet absolutely knocked it out of the park.

My mom also said something else that really stood out to me after the movie too. She said that she could see Chalamet becoming a new age Humphrey Bogart or Cary Grant. This kid is hyper talented. He seems to pick good movies most of the time. I love his portrayal of Paul Atreideis in both new "Dune" movies. I thought he did a superb job as a young Willy Wonka in "Wonka". I like his stuff in movies like "Don't Look Up" and "Ladybird". And after seeing him play Dylan, he is now one of my favorite actors working today. And he definitely had help.

Scoot McNairy, as a sickly Woody Guthrie, helped move the story along. I thought Ed Norton did great things with his version of Pete Seeger. Elle Fanning was great as Dylen's first partner after he moved to NYC. Monica Barbaro was wonderful as Joan Baez. Boyd Holbrook was convincing as Johnny Cash. I mean, pretty much everyone in this movie seemed to understand the assignment and ran with it and did some great things.

I also liked that the story of the movie was Dylan's early rise to fame and him playing at the Newport Folk Festival up until he goes electric. And I thought the way they handled the whole ordeal of him going electric was perfect. This movie never got cliche and sappy. They showed Dylan's genius, but also how tough it would be to collaborate or be in a relationship with him. I felt bad for Pete Seeger after Dylan's rise to fame because he became a second hand person in his life.

I loved this movie. The reason to see this and watch it again and again is Chalamet's performance. He is dynamic and I hope he continues to do cool stuff in his acting career. He is a talented dude. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Frank" Again, and Again

Yesterday I watched the movie "Frank" for the third time. Let’s discuss.

I really enjoy this movie. For people that don't know, "Frank" is about a band writing a record and then performing it live. Well, that is the short of it. The movie has a bunch of layers. It's about music. It's about input from your band members. It's about wanting fame. It's about mental illness. It's about the indie rock scene. There is a ton to see in this movie.

Michael Fassbender plays Frank, and he is wonderful. He totally embodies this role. I should mention that he wears a humongous plaster head for almost the entire movie. Fassbender's Frank is a genius song writer, but he has some serious mental health issues that he has not properly dealt with yet. I read that the movie is based upon some stuff that kind of happened to the writer in their real life. That's wild.

Outside Fassbender, the rest of the cast is great. The guitarist and drummer are first timers and they are in a band in real life. They do a very good job here. Maggie Gylenhall plays the theremin player, and she kind of helps Frank in his daily life. She is an egomaniac, but she has a good heart. Domhnall Gleeson plays the co lead in the movie, and he shines. He wants all the fame. He wants to be remembered for his music. He wants people to love him, which is a problem on its own. Seeing where they start and end up is pretty great. I love watching them record the album. It shows how crazy and how much of a perfectionist some musicians can be. Frank is relentless in his work. He wants all of his ideas to work. Most do, but him pushing the other band members really shows how awful it can be to record with a genius. Scoot McNairy plays the band manager, but he has problems all his own. He is constantly trying to be Frank, but knows he cannot be Frank. It haunts him. That shows tenfold when they finish the record.

I love when the band goes to play South By Southwest. That is a great representation of how wanting fame can be a real disease. Gleeson wants so badly to be famous that he will do whatever it takes. He doesn't care about anyone else's feelings, he just wants fame. His other band members are crumbling around him, but he continues to push until they all leave him behind. Frank has real trauma, and his original members can help. But Gleeson doesn't see that and he pushes too hard. When they finally break apart and go deal with some of their issues, the ending is very fulfilling.

"Frank" is a very, very solid movie. Watching it yesterday made me realize that stuff like this doesn't get made anymore. Movies are all prequels or reimagining ideas or sequels. There are hardly any new ideas. "Frank" is a very good takedown of music and the music industry. It also tells some very good stories about mental illness and how debilitating it can be. I want more movies like "Frank" or "Everything Everywhere All at Once". And less superhero stuff. Give me original ideas. And, watch "Frank". It is well worth your time. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.