Channeling Dylan: Can Timothee Chalamet strike gold at the Oscars?

Is it Timothay or Timothy? I do not know. So I’ll make sure to listen carefully to how Timothee Chalamet’s name will be pronounced in the news these days and in the upcoming award-giving shows from Hollywood and elsewhere where he is sure to be one of the most important attendees.

It is time we get the name of this guy right. He is not only the best-looking actor in the movies nowadays, he is also among the most talented.

Besides, he seems nice and hardworking. I like hearing about good things happening to him. And there was one just a few days ago.

Timothee Chalamet got his second Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his work in the movie “A Complete Unknown.” His first came for his breakthrough performance in the drama “Call Me By Your Name.” Aside from that nomination, he is also the star of two films which are in the running for Best Picture, “Dune Part 2” and “A Complete Unknown.”

Chalamet’s second nomination is for his portrayal of the great pop music artist Bob Dylan. The first pop star to win the Nobel Prize, Dylan is a singer, songwriter, actor, painter, and a lot of other things artistic besides. He revolutionized songwriting when he came up with socially conscious lyrics which became battle cries for concerned citizens all over the world.

Pop-wise, he is the composer of songs like Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright, Blowin’ in the Wind, A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall and others. The title of the picture comes from one of Dylan’s famous works, “A complete unknown, like a rolling stone.”

I think it can be said that Dylan is a favorite subject among filmmakers. Martin Scorsese did two documentaries about him, “No Direction Home” 1 and 2. Todd Haynes had Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger and Cate Blanchett play him in various parts of his life in “I’m Not There.”

“A Complete Unknown,” directed by James Mangold, brings to life four years in Dylan’s life during the ‘60s. Focus is on his integrity as a musician and writer and on his relationships with his close friend, the folksinger Pete Seeger who wrote Turn, Turn, Turn and with his lover, the Queen of Folk Singers, Joan Baez, who composed Diamonds and Rust.

It is a compelling portrait and Chalamet is up to the demands of the role. He comes out looking very much like the young Dylan. Not only that he also sang all the songs in the soundtrack and played the guitar, Dylan-style.

The competition for Best Actor is formidable. There’s Adrien Brody of the immigrant tale “The Brutalist,” who is already a winner for “The Pianist”; Colman Domingo of the prison drama “Sing Sing,” who was a favorite last year for “Rustin”; Ralph Fiennes, an Oscar nominee for “Schindler’s List,” now for “Conclave”; and Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump in “The Apprentice.”

Chalamet is only 29 years old. He is a pygmy among giants. But I say, he has the magic of great music behind him and might just bring home that statuette as Oscar’s youngest Best Actor ever.

Remember, it has worked wonderfully before. He will join an illustrious line-up of actors who brought home the award because they proved to be so good being a music star on the screen.

Among these are: Rami Malek as Freddy Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody”; Renee Zellwegger as Judy Garland in “Judy”; Reese Witherspoon as June Carter Cash in “Walk the Line”; Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles in “Ray”; Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl” and the one I spent childhood afternoons with on a black and white TV screen, James Cagney as George M. Cohan in “Yankee Doodle Dandy.”

No matter what happens though, “A Complete Unknown” has cemented Chalamet’s reputation as the greatest actor of his generation.