Last week I mentioned in a couple of posts that the first screenings for A Complete Unknown were taking place and that we should be hearing initial reactions. And indeed the ones right out the gate were overwhelmingly positive. There have since been a few that are more mixed and measured in their assessment but the consensus seems to be that Timothée Chalamet lives up to the hype as Bob Dylan which in turn means that all the experts are now even more convinced that he’ll be nominated for Best Actor.
There was a screening for A Complete Unknown last night in London attended by director James Mangold and supporting cast members Monica Barbaro, Elle Fanning, and Edward Norton. But no Timmy. He was seen just this past weekend in New York on a photo shoot and of course he’s been there for the last few weeks shooting Marty Supreme. It’s probably a scheduling issue since, obviously, he’d be the big marketing draw for this film.
That said, in the reviews that I have read, both Monica and Elle have been singled out for their performances so this is a good opportunity to highlight their work outside of the shadow that Timmy can cast. He’ll show up soon enough and get on the campaign trail and at that point, most of the attention will probably be directed his way.
It’ll be interesting, though, given how late he’s joining the race, how he’ll maximise the time between the end of American Thanksgiving and the holiday break to build momentum. It was announced yesterday that he will receive the Arlington Artist of the Year Award at the Santa Barbara Film Festival on February 11, right when Oscar voters are making their considerations. This is definitely a boost.
And today Entertainment Weekly shared an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at him singing and performing live during filming, which is the first good clear listen, in my opinion, of his voice work on the movie. We’re going to be hearing a lot about this in the next few weeks.
