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One of the best aspects of A Complete Unknown, the Timothée Chalamet-led Bob Dylan biopic, is how it depicts New York City in the '60s.
Album cover recreations aside, A Complete Unknown brings Greenwich Village to life. The crew behind the movie talked to ClutchPoints about the making of the biopic. Interestingly enough, the movie wasn't fully filmed in New York City.
Frequent James Mangold collaborator Phedon Papamichael revealed they took the production across the river to New Jersey. Ironically, Dylan opens the movie by hitchhiking from Jersey to New York.
“We shot the entire movie on location, except for Bob's apartment and a few hotel rooms,” Papamichael said. “We shot in Hoboken, New Jersey; Patterson; [and] Jersey City.”
Those cities were used to duplicate the West Village in New York City. To be honest, you wouldn't tell by watching A Complete Unknown, which doesn't shy away from showing off the city.
It was a nice change of pace from Papamichael's last collaboration with Mangold: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Obviously, Indiana Jones 5 was more of a Hollywood blockbuster than an intimate biopic like A Complete Unknown.
“Ironically, it's the same period, [but] a very different look,” he explained.”[It was] much more high-key, formulaic, leaning into [Janusz] Kamiński's work… let's say, Hollywood.”
In comparison, A Complete Unknown aimed for a “more realistic, more subtle” aesthetic. Papamichael described this version of New York as “moodier.”
How they accomplished a “more realistic” New York City
Production designer François Audouy assisted Papamichael. The cinematographer revealed that Audouy created an “amazing” lookbook for reference.
“One thing I noticed is, first of all, the amount of dirt and grit that existed back then; it wasn't as clean, so we spent a lot of time throwing garbage on the streets,” he said. “[There also] were no trees. They planted the trees in the '80s, so we tried to accommodate our schedule and start shooting in early spring before the trees blossomed with leaves.”
He further described the color palette as having “more browns and grays.” The aesthetic changes over the course of A Complete Unknown. Papamichael described Dylan's transition throughout.
“As Bob finds himself and becomes more comfortable, [he] gets integrated into the city. And as his music develops and breaks out of traditional folk, by nature of the story, visually, we expanded into a more kinetic and saturated and colorful world,” he explained. “His wardrobe changes; he buys a motorcycle, [and] he's wearing orange and polka dot shirts and leather jackets.”
Papamichael and Co. had to embrace the darkness and shadows of certain scenes. A Complete Unknown features scenes of Dylan performing in small nightclubs and big theaters alike.
He described the live performances from cast members Timothée Chalamet, Monica Barbaro, and Edward Norton as a big assist in capturing the sequences. There were actual crowds present for their shows, and it allowed Papamichael “a lot of freedom [to] not make it too technical.”
A specific shout-out goes to his Steadicam operator, Scott Sakamoto, who was allowed to let his instincts take over as he was “finding things as he's feeling it in the performance.”
Modern Greenwich Village is not the same
Part of the problem with filming on-location in Greenwich Village is how much it has evolved over 60 years. According to Audouy, you would “never” want to shoot a movie set in the '60s there, calling it a “tourist trap.”
“It's changed so much,” he explained. “There are these giant trees in the street, but also [with] every single store, it feels like you're going to an amusement park.”
Moving the production to their “back lot,” as he described it, of Jersey City and Hoboken was the natural solution. It ultimately worked out as you wouldn't be able to tell the difference when watching A. Complete Unknown.
“Capturing” vs. “recreating”
For Audouy, there is a key distinction between “recreating” New York City as Bob Dylan knew it and “capturing” it for A Complete Unknown.
“We wanted it to feel like you could turn the corner and run into great artists,” he explained. “I don't know if you've been to Greenwich Village, but it's a very small part of Manhattan. At the same time, it was very affordable.”
He wanted to create an “authentic” version of Greenwich Village. The biggest thing they recreated was Dylan's apartment. Audouy spent time researching the apartment, thanks to the “full access to photographic archives” that previously documented it.
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His goal was to make an “immersive” reproduction that would make it easier for actors like Timothée Chalamet and Elle Fanning to act in it. The actors were able to use drawers, typewriters, records, and the bathtub in the apartment.
Such an accurate recreation is not something Audouy has frequently done with other projects. However, it sounds like it was important to director James Mangold to get it right.
Since it was Dylan's first home in New York City, they needed to get it right. Even though Audouy has seen A Complete Unknown several times, he is still wowed by how the performances, costumes, and the sets work together to make for a great viewing experience.
He compared the apartment to a “costume,” saying it “envelopes Timmy's performance.” Audouy praised Chalamet for inhabiting the role as he did to the point that “you forget that you're not watching Bob Dylan.”
Capturing Timothée Chalamet's Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown
As Dylan's career blossoms, he begins to grow out his curly hair. A Complete Unknown features some concert scenes where they use the shadows, as Papamichael said. This allows Timothée Chalamet's silhouette to take center stage, which looks exactly like Dylan.
Papamichael did work closely with the lighting department. He called lighting his “main focus” when composing a scene. But with A Complete Unknown, it was challenging since there weren't rehearsals for Papamichael and his crew to film. Instead, they had to figure it out on the fly.
“We're constantly live mix[ing], like a play. We're adjusting light levels and color temperatures throughout the shot,” he said. “And there's no rehearsals because they're coming out and performing live. It's not like you're going to rehearse that, so our [first] take is our rehearsal.”
After the first take, Papamichael and the crew would discuss things they wanted to get in the next shot. While a bit unorthodox, the approach helped him capture the movie. The concert scenes look great, and that is due to Papamichael's work.
Recreating Bob Dylan's album covers for A Complete Unknown
While we may never see Dylan and Sylvie Russo (Fanning) do the photoshoot for The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, they did shoot a scene of them walking down the street to recreate the iconic cover.
Papamichael remembers shooting the scene. However, they ultimately substituted it with a similar scene where Dylan and Russo are doing a photoshoot on steps, presumably for the album's other promotional materials.
Some albums were easier to recreate than others. Audouy got the original negatives from the photographer of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. This allowed him to insert Chalamet and Fanning into the cover, calling the finished product “uncanny” and “spooky.”
Audouy also said that they recreated some of Joan Baez and Pete Seeger's (Edward Norton) album covers. Apparently, they are so accurate that they look “exactly the same” as the originals.
Maybe someday we will see some of the album covers. Audouy teased that he may put them on his personal website someday. In the meantime, you'll have to see A Complete Unknown to catch glimpses of the album covers.
A Complete Unknown is now in theaters.
