I have to admit something to you all: I missed the boat with A Complete Unknown, and waited incredibly way too long to watch the critically acclaimed Bob Dylan biopic. I finally checked it out when it became available with my Hulu subscription and was completely blown away by Timothée Chalamet’s take on the trailblazing folk singer. There was just something so natural, so refreshing, and so mesmerizing about the way the film’s star lost himself in the role. However, there’s another actor I haven’t been able to stop thinking about.
No, it’s not Edward Norton’s Pete Seeger or Monica Barbaro’s Joan Baez, though both were absolutely incredible in their respective parts. The actor that took my breath away was Boyd Holbrook and his portrayal of Johnny Cash. Despite only being in the movie for a few minutes and not really the main focus of James Mangold’s all-time great biopic, I was captivated by the actor and the way he brought “The Man in Black” to life.
Don't Get Me Wrong, Timothée Chalamet’s Portrayal Of Bob Dylan Is One Of The Best I've Ever Seen
I’m not saying anything revolutionary here, but I honestly believe that Timothée Chalamet would have won the Oscar for Best Actor if A Complete Unknown had not come out the same year as The Brutalist. I kept telling my wife as we watched (and several times after) that Chalamet has “it,” that rare once-in-a-generation combination of talent, charisma, and believability in his portrayal of Bob Dylan. Not only was this one of the actor’s best performances, it was one of the greatest in any biopic of all time.
I say this because I don’t want everything that comes after to give off the impression that I was not taken aback by Chalamet’s commitment to giving audiences a faithful, unforgettable, and passionate portrayal of one of the greatest songwriters of all time. With that out of the way, I have to talk about Boyd Holbrook…
But I Was So Captivated By Boyd Holbrook's Take On Johnny Cash
When I first heard about Johnny Cash being portrayed in A Complete Unknown, I was incredibly intrigued by the prospect of James Mangold revisiting “The Man in Black” nearly 20 years after Joaquin Phoenix took on the role in 2005’s Walk the Line. I kept wondering how they would be similar, how they’d be different, and how much time would he have in the movie. Regardless, I had a feeling Holbrook’s take on the legendary country singer would be captivating. But I didn’t think it would impact me the way it did.
Maybe it was the way he was introduced, maybe it was the fact I kept forgetting this was the same guy who played the villain in Logan and Indiana Jones and the Dial of the Destiny, or maybe it’s the fact that he’s a tremendous actor who can do more with less. I don’t know, but whenever I caught wind that Cash was going to be in an upcoming scene, I perked up because I just wanted to see more of this performance.
Holbrook Just Did Such A Good Job Of Capturing The Man In Black's Aura
Having an actor play Johnny Cash in a movie, especially when the last guy to play him received heaps of praise and took his career into overdrive, was quite a gamble, but Boyd Holbrook quickly put those concerns to rest when he entered the picture. There were multiple times while watching A Complete Unknown when I felt like I was watching Cash interact with Bob Dylan instead of an actor playing the prolific country legend. He simply captured the aura of “The Man in Black.”
Whether he was talking (those pen-pal scenes with Dylan were great, by the way), performing “Folsom Prison Blues” at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival, being a drunk fool at the hotel before the following year’s concert, or just standing there with that grin of his, Holbrook wasn’t trying to be the man, he became the man. In a rare feat of acting excellence, he channeled the aura and spirit of the late songwriter and brought him back to life.
The ‘Big Brother/Little Brother’ Quality Of The Two Musicians' Relationship Was Great
I first became fascinated by the friendship shared by Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash after hearing the Nashville Skyline version of “Girl from the North Country” back in high school. These two icons of the worlds of folk and country music, respectively, just meshed so well in this reimagining of a song first released on 1963’s The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, and added so much to the lyrics and presentation. So, you can imagine how stoked I was when I first saw their friendship unfold in A Complete Unknown.
Throughout the movie, Dylan and Cash have this “big brother/little brother” quality to their friendship, with “The Man in Black” being the more established, experienced, and weary of the two. Cash would take Dylan under his wing, offer advice, and give off the impression that he genuinely cared about him, which added so much to the story and overall messages of the movie.
I Also Loved How Johnny Cash Was Bob Dylan's Conscience At Pivotal Moments In His Life And Career
Another thing I loved about Hal Holbrook’s portrayal of Johnny Cash was the way in which he came off as Bob Dylan’s conscience during some of the most pivotal moments in his life and career. The phrase “track some mud on the carpet” is used on more than one occasion, and I kept seeing it as the older country stinger telling the upstart singer to follow his heart and do what he thinks is right, no matter who he pisses off in the process. Before the 1965 Newport Folk Festival where Dylan nearly started a riot by “going electric,” Cash again told him to “track some mud on the carpet” to push him to make the right call.
One of my colleagues wrote about another Bob Dylan story they’d love to see after A Complete Unknown, but I’d seriously love to have a biopic diving more into his relationship with Cash in the fallout of the Newport Folk Festival incident.
All in all, I think A Complete Unknown is a better movie because of Boyd Holbrook’s take on Johnny Cash. I doubt we’ll ever see him play “The Man in Black” again, but I’d be great to see him run it back one more time.
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