Before last night’s Manhattan screening of A Complete Unknown (Searchlight, 12.25) I wrote that I expected James Mangold‘s film to “at least hold its own and perhaps even improve slightly”, especially given that “I already know what’s wrong with it so there won’t be any unexpected potholes.”

Well, guess what? The HE approval meter rose at least 30% or 40%. It’s a constant drip of pleasure, pleasure, pleasure…one anthem-like song after another…this is the real “sing sing.” Tears welled up again in the same first-act portions. The crowd applauded when it ended. A 40ish woman sitting behind me said to someone nearby that she “loved it…loved it.”

My third or fourth viewing will presumably happen with subtitles, and then I can really savor Timothee Chalamet‘s dialogue, which he slurs and mutters and mumbles most of the time. I heard most of the good lines (“you can be ugly or beautiful but you can’t be plain”) but I’d like to read all of them.