Director James Mangold and actor Timothée Chalamet faced one major hurdle in examining the life of Bob Dylan in the biopic “A Complete Unknown.” They had to find a way to tell the story of a man whose persona is extremely quiet and controlled while his music is so dynamic. That makes for a great album or CD but creates problems on the big screen. “A Complete Unknown” starts with the 19-year-old from Minnesota arriving in New York with his guitar and a talent for writing songs like the world had not heard. While forging relationships with music icons of Greenwich Village, Dylan rises to stardom in only a few years. There is no arguing that the most powerful part of Dylan’s life is his songwriting skills. His poetic words are amplified by a musical style that projects the heartbeat of America. His words resonate with different meanings each time they are heard. Then there is the man. As Mangold shows, starting with Dylan’s arrival in New York to his controversial amplified performance four years later, that as a person his passion is not as obvious. The film starts with Dylan meeting his idol, Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy). Chalamet’s performance doesn’t project through Dylan the power of the moment. That only comes through when he performs a song for Guthrie. “A Complete Unknown” is filled with these scenarios. The one area where Dylan’s emotions could be exposed to the raw core is in his relationship with his girlfriend Sylvie Russo (who is based on Dylan’s real girlfriend Suze Rotolo). There are a few emotional moments in their apartment, but the only real connection comes when Russo is watching Dylan perform on stage. There is the potential for some major emotional moments with Russo’s concerns for Dylan’s obsession with Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro). When such moments happen, it is Fanning who brings life to the scene. Chalamet is plagued by having to play a character who lives on such an emotional plateau. Because that part of the performance is so limited, Chalamet compensates with stronger musical performances. Give Chalamet credit for learning to play guitar and singing in the film. Mangold didn’t want Chalamet lip-synching to Dylan recordings because the speaking and singing voices would not match. It should be pointed out that Dylan’s gruff singing style is not the most complicated to copy. The strength of “A Complete Unknown” is not Chalamet’s performance but exists in all the supporting players. Edward Norton shows that a character doesn’t have to be wildly emotional to be engaging as he demonstrates with his portrayal of folk singer Pete Seeger. The same goes for Fanning’s work and that of Barbaro. Both women show wide ranges of emotions while maintaining a normal emotional framework. All the supporting players serve as emotional props for the flatness that Chalamet could never overcome. The most vibrant part of the film is the cinematography. Mangold created worlds – from depressing hospital rooms to New York’s nightlife – that reflect the world where Dylan was rising to power. The director even found ways to make concert sequences less like a photocopy of the actual event and more like a tapestry on which the story is painted. Mangold – who came to the project with experience making biopics having directed “Walk the Line” – understood the flat emotional levels of Dylan. He compensates with musical number after musical number. The director has said the film could have been six hours with all the musical performances filmed. He has included so many in his two hour-plus version that the music is less about the power of the words and more about masking the inherent problems with playing Dylan. Fans of Dylan’s music would be better off listening to one of his albums or tracking down one of the numerous documentaries made looking at the singer/songwriter. Martin Scorese’s three-and-a-half-hour documentary “No Direction Home: Bob Dylan” in 2005 is a much better offering. “A Complete Unknown” is all that a biopic about Bob Dylan can be. His music demands attention even if Dylan’s personality isn’t naturally compelling. His life is like a rolling stone in that it comes crashing at you with force even if the center is too hard to penetrate. Movie review A Complete Unknown Grade: B Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Elle Fanning, Edward Norton, Monica Barbaro, Boyd Holbrook Director: James Mangold Rated: PG for language Running time: 141 minutes.