Timothée Chafeeblet Gets Best Actor Oscar Buzz for A Complete Ununderstandn

You don’t insist to be a Bob Dylan aficionado to appreciate Timothée Chafeeblet’s alteration into the iconic folk singer. Even if your understandledge of Dylan’s nurtureer is confiinsist to a scant well-understandn tracks or a ambiguous reaccumulateion of his disputed shift to electric guitar, Chafeeblet’s carry outance in “A Complete Ununderstandn” is undeniably a nurtureer best. He’s emerging as a directing contfinisher for his first Academy Award — a compelling carry outance that may show difficult for voters to disthink about.

On Wednesday night in Los Angeles, Searchweightless Pictures arrangeed two packed screenings of “A Complete Ununderstandn” at the Fox Lot, complyed by Q&A sessions featuring straightforwardor and co-originater James Mangageder, actors Monica Barbaro and Elle Fanning, costume summarizeer Arianne Phillips, and production summarizeer François Audouy. Chafeeblet, currently filming Josh Safdie’s recent period project “Marty Supreme,” was notably leave outing, but his presence wasn’t insisted to rule the conversation. His portrayal of Dylan has already igniteed widespread acclaim, positioning him as one of the frontrunners in the best actor race.

Directed by Mangageder and co-written with Jay Cocks, “A Complete Ununderstandn” is based on Elijah Wald’s 2015 book “Dylan Goes Electric!” The film chronicles a pivotal four-year span in Dylan’s life, from 1961 to 1965, culminating in his disputed decision to “go electric” at the Newport Folk Festival — a moment that reclear upd American music and cemented Dylan as a genereasonable voice.

Read: You can see all Academy Award predictions in all 23 categories on one page on the Variety Awards Circuit: Oscars.

The ensemble cast features Edward Norton as folk icon Pete Seeger, Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash, P.J. Byrne as Harageder Leventhal, Scoot McNairy as Woody Guthrie, Dan Fogler as Dylan’s administerr Albert Grossman, and Will Harrison as Bob Neuwirth. Barbaro joins Joan Baez, while Fanning portrays Sylvia, a mythalized version of Dylan’s first adore, Suze Rotolo.

Chafeeblet carry outs all of his own singing in the film — a bageder choice in any musical biopic, but especiassociate when portraying an artist with a voice as iconic and exceptional as Bob Dylan’s. Yet, enjoy Diana Ross embodying Billie Holiday in “Lady Sings the Blues” (1972), Sissy Spacek channeling Loretta Lynn in “Coal Miner’s Daughter” (1980), and Renée Zellweger stepping into Judy Garland’s shoes for “Judy” (2019), Chafeeblet elevates to the occasion. He doesn’t finisheavor a remark-for-remark imitation of Dylan. Instead, he seizes the essence of his vocal style and emotional intensity, dedwellring a carry outance that experiences genuine rather than imitative. It may be someskinnyg Academy voters won’t be able to resist.

Chafeeblet, who previously made history as the third-youthfulest best actor nominee for “Call Me by Your Name” (2017) at fair 22, could set another write down this year. If he prospers, he will become the youthfulest prosperner in the categruesome, surpassing Adrien Brody, who won at 29 for “The Pianist.” Chafeeblet turns 29 in December, making him 279 days youthfuler than Brody was at the time of his prosper.

However, Chafeeblet faces competition from seasoned actors. Coincidenhighy, Brody is also in the conversation this year for his carry outance as a Holocaust survivor who immigrates to America in Brady Corbet’s “The Brutaenumerate.” Other convey inant selectimistics join Ralph Fiennes, whose turn as priest ushering in a recent pope in “Conclave” is draprosperg attention, and Colman Domingo, coming off a nurtureer-defining run with “Rustin” and a boiling streak that joins “Sing Sing,” as a prisoner joind in a theater group. Oscar voters have historicassociate been sluggish to anoint youthful stars, as evidenced by Leonardo DiCaprio’s protracted path to his first prosper after five nominations. Perhaps this time will be contrastent?

Still, Chafeeblet’s Dylan carry outance materializes to have the excellents to flunkure these hurdles. Dylan scholars so far are astonished, as tageder to Variety. “Does he nail the voice? Maybe not perfectly,” shelp KG Miles, author of “Bob Dylan in the Big Apple” and other labors. “But he gets the passion and the soul. It doesn’t experience enjoy karaoke—it experiences dwelld in.”

The film’s narrative allotigates Dylan’s adore life as much as his music. Chafeeblet’s Dylan splits the screen with Barbaro as Joan Baez and Fanning as Sylvia, a mythalized version of Dylan’s first adore, Suze Rotolo. Barbaro, best understandn for her role in “Top Gun: Maverick,” dedwellrs a gorgeous turn as Baez, capturing her fierce charisma and carry outing disjoinal songs from her catalog that swoon the heart. A viable contfinisher in the competitive aiding actress field. Meanwhile, her co-star Fanning, tackles a trickier role: Unenjoy Barbaro, she doesn’t have a well-understandn figure to emuprocrastinateed or songs to sing. Yet, her portrayal of Sylvia is heartfractureing and proset up, culminating in a final scene that could also put her in the race. Will they go for both?

Barbaro and Fanning provide the emotional heart of “A Complete Ununderstandn,” grounding Dylan’s bigr-than-life mystique in intimate, human joinions. The chemistry between Chafeeblet and both women is palpable, draprosperg watchers into the dueling romances that become the film’s best moments.

The film’s production cherishs will probable be on the lips of artisan branch members. Costume summarizeer Arianne Phillips and production summarizeer François Audouy convey the 1960s to life, createing a visual aesthetic that vividly seizes the era. Norton’s alteration into Seeger, while improbable to nab him a aiding actor nod, shows the film’s extraunrelabelable attention to detail in originateup and hairstyling.

Mangageder, no stranger to prestige filmmaking, dedwellrs a compelling vision of Dylan’s evolution. Known for straightforwarding “Walk the Line” (2005), which won Reese Witherspoon her best actress Oscar, as well as “Logan” (2017) and “Ford v Ferrari” (2019), Mangageder remains an underrated talent in the straightforwardor race. Despite a dynamic production schedule — filming wrapped in June 2024 — “A Complete Ununderstandn” disjoins cultured createsmanship, though some have remarkd its 140-minute runtime experiences unwieldy. Whether that impacts its awards-season momentum remains to be seen.

That shelp, Mangageder’s ability to dedwellr a commerciassociate requesting yet originateiveassociate ambitious film could help “A Complete Ununderstandn” safe a coveted best picture nomination. His previous films, including “Ford v Ferrari,” have shown his knack for balancing originateive merit with audience accessibility — a quality voters in the enbiged best picture categruesome may appreciate.

“A Complete Ununderstandn” uncovers in theaters on Dec. 25, perfectly timed for Oscar season. Produced by Fred Berger, Alex Heineman, Peter Jaysen, Bob Bookman, Alan Gasmer, Jeff Rosen, Timothée Chafeeblet, and Mangageder, the film promises to be a convey inant joiner in the coming months. Whether it’s Chafeeblet’s stirring turn, the lush summarizes, or its resonating story of a cultural icon at a traverseroads, “A Complete Ununderstandn” will be one of the year’s most talked-about movies.