James Mangold, the co-writer and director of A Complete Unknown, is no stranger to exploring the life of major musicians in the 1960s, having helmed the 2005 Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line. But in tackling Bob Dylan (played by Timothe Chalamet), Mangold approached his subject through a more narrow, intimate lens, focusing on the stars initial rise to fame and his relationships with such contemporaries as Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro). In this scene, Bob and Joan are waking up after sleeping together for the first time as the world reckons with a potential nuclear war at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Mangold chose to focus on this scene in particular because of the dramatic tension stemming from a number of factors. Once both characters are conscious, theyre dealing with the awkwardness of waking up next to a stranger. Bobs first words in the scene are a commentary on both the global threat of violence and the social dynamic at hand. Mangold notes: We just lived through wondering whether were going to die, and then our television tells us that danger has evaporated, and then Joan makes coffee in the kitchenette, which is a normal activity for a stranger in an apartment to do, particularly if theyre trying to cover the fact that they were just snooping around.

Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures They havent even had a rudimentary first-date conversation yet, says Mangold, explaining how in the previous scene, Joan stumbled upon Bob performing in a bar by chance, and after he left the stage, the pair embraced and slept together. Her next parlay of, Who taught you to play? when he starts noodling on his guitar is almost the standard way young people on a date might feel each other out.

Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures To recover from the awkwardness of the rooms silence, Joan starts answering questions about herself, because hes not asking any, Mangold says. Then she adds, But Im not sure theres a way to learn that. He uses this as an opportunity to respond to her [when she calls him full of shit]. He says, You struggle because your songs are not very good, and you write about bullshit. Mangold calls Bobs dialogue a counterattack. A line about sunsets and seagulls is one the screenwriter had in mind before starting on this scene.

Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures Bob responds to Joans question with a stock story about picking up guitar on the road, which he tells other characters in the movie, and remains virtually unchallenged in the slight illogic of it, him being this 19-year-old who somehow was living life out on the trains and carnivals and had seemingly skipped high school. Chalamet added in a line about learning chords from a cowboy named Wigglefoot, which is something Timmy brought to the scene; its something he had gotten from a radio interview Dylan had done very early.

Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures In response to his patronizing comments on her songwriting, Baez calls him an asshole, which is the first thing he agrees with that shes said all morning, Mangold notes. Which is interesting in and of itself, because it reveals an aspect of Bobs character: He doesnt mind if you call him an asshole. Mangold saw this exchange as a kind of foreplay. Theyve been thrown into this by a world crisis and a spontaneous sexual adventure, and theyre waking up on the B-side of those decisions. Each ends up taking a shot at the other, but because theyre both powerful personalities and confident artists, neither is thrown off.

Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures The only way Joan can think to respond to Bobs insult is to go to the only place they both feel safe. She thrusts his song lyrics in his face and tells him to sing. Mangold says, [This means], Lets stop talking, because its not working. On the following page, Joan joins Bob by the guitar. Mangold had known from the get-go that he wanted this sequence to end with Dylan and Baez singing together. Its like a lovemaking scene, he says. It plays the same role in the movie, in the sense that you are watching how well they fit together.

Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures In figuring out when and how to include Dylans most iconic songs within the narrative structure, Mangold thought of Dylans records not as songs or musical numbers per se, but as dialogue that is sung on pitch instead of spoken. Im making a movie about real people who play music as part of their living experience, he says. He emphasizes his interest in showing these songs and artists not in the way theyd be seen on camera, even in a documentary. Theres no way thered be cameras [in this scene], Mangold says. These are truly intimate moments with these characters.

This story appeared in the Feb. 12 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.