Bob Dylan and a vampire welcome holiday moviegoers to the cinemas with thrills and intrigue, but in opposite ways.
Christmas Day and the entire holiday season present a new offering of films that feel unconventional for this time of the year. In addition to the great erotic thriller Babygirl starring Nicole Kidman, we’ve got a Bob Dylan biopic covering a span of four years of the famed musician’s career with A Complete Unknown, while Nosferatu gets a remake of the 1922 classic silent film about a vampire’s lust for a woman. Both films come from established directors in James Mangold and Robert Eggers, two of cinema’s most vital filmmakers who have carved out their own places in the current Hollywood landscape. In this article, I review both of these films releasing in theaters tomorrow.
‘A Complete Unknown’
I’m sorry if this sounds corny, but it’s a complete unknown (*ducks*) as to what happened to director James Mangold between his weak Indiana Jones movie and his current release, A Complete Unknown, which is based off Elijah Wald’s novel Dylan Goes Electric! That’s not to say this new film centered around Bob Dylan is bad. In fact, it’s perfectly fine. However, it’s as standard and repetitive as biopics about famed musicians as they come, adding nothing new to the subgenre or any revelations about the musician himself.
A Complete Unknown is driven by its cast, led by Timothée Chalamet, who plays Bob Dylan and does so with an air of confidence. Like many others, I’m a big fan of Timothée’s work, as he is one of our very bright hopes for the future of cinema. But his performance here is one that does not garner any of the usual award consideration that often comes with biopics year after year. And to take things two steps further, I don’t think his performance is even on the same level as the two supporting actresses, Elle Fanning and Monica Barbaro, who play Dylan’s love interests. Nor do I think his performance in this biopic compares favorably with his other big film from earlier this year: Dune: Part Two. That being said, Timothée’s performance, along with the rest of the cast that includes another great character performance from Edward Norton, is what makes this film more than passable. However, it is disappointing that it didn’t add more substance to a man of many words, whom millions have enjoyed over the years.
One wrinkle his biopic adds to the film space is that there just might be more music vocals than actual scenes containing dialogue between characters. From a narrative perspective, I get this approach, Dylan was transitioning to a new chapter in his career by going electric. However, outside the scope of the character as a musician, it does little in providing substance to his personality away from a microphone other than reminding you again and again that in many aspects this guy is a jerk. Sure, that is part of what has made the musician the trailblazer he is today, but if you’ve seen Todd Haynes’ I’m Not There or Martin Scorsese’s superb Bob Dylan documentary, No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, then A Complete Unknown does not unearth anything new to what you already may think or know about Dylan himself, despite decent performances across the board.
RATING: ★★★
(out of five stars)
‘Nosferatu’
Two things should be addressed about Robert Egger’s Nosferatu remake right off the riff that might pique your interest. First, this is much more lustful than the premise and previews led us to believe. And second, this version of Nosferatu is very much a gothic Christmas movie for more reasons than merely its release date. With those things out of the way, and after months of buildup and anticipation for this version of Nosferatu, I can report that not only does the film live up to its lofty expectations, but it is also one of the year’s best films.
Nosferatu tells the story of a real estate agent (Nicholas Hoult) tasked with going to Transylvania to complete the purchase of a house for Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård), who becomes infatuated with the wife (Lily-Rose Depp) of the real estate agent. If you’re familiar with the original, silent film from 1922, then the core story here presents nothing new, despite a couple of great, new subplots (one of which involves Willem Dafoe playing a character akin to Van Helsing). However, the way in which Eggers and his cinematographer Jarin Blaschke present this straightforward story sinks its teeth into viewers right from the get-go, which makes for an intoxicating viewing experience right up until its final haunting image.
Of course, Nosferatu would not work without its ensemble, which is among the year’s best. In his role as a kindhearted real estate agent, Nicholas Hoult continues his hot streak after Juror #2 and The Order. Lily-Rose Depp trumps nepotism and delivers an awards-worthy performance as the real estate salesman’s wife. In smaller roles, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Ralph Ineson, Simon McBurney, and Willem Dafoe all deliver fun performances, each of which play pivotal roles in the vampire’s ultimate quest. And speaking of the vampire, Bill Skarsgård is exceptionally frightening as Count Orlok. From his demeanor to his voice and actual presence, it’s good to finally have a vampire on screen that looks scary.
In a year filled with so many beautiful-looking films, this Nosferatu might stand alone atop them all, as it is a sheer technical marvel in all aspects. From the cinematography to production design, sound design, and many other aspects, the world from back in the 1800s that viewers step into is a prime example of a film that makes you feel as if you’re actually escaping the real world for a couple of hours. This Nosferatu also pays homage to the 1922 classic with a couple of shots set up the exact same way as they were in the original film. As one of my favorite colleagues said a few weeks ago, Eggers is the great hope for horror filmmaking, and this film feels like the culmination of his career and may age with time to be his best film ever. Nosferatu feels like a love letter to horror, a genre which reminds of us that nothing screams “communal experience” more than being in a room full of strangers and being mutually frightened by what’s happening on screen. Thank you Robert Eggers and Count Orlok for reminding us of that.