A Complete Unknown Movie Review

SYLVIE: “Are you God, Bob?”

BOB: “How many times do I have to tell you? Yes.”

Bob Dylan, American singer-songwriter, may not be a god but he sure is one of the most influential musical figures of all time. A Complete Unknown is the most recent Bob Dylan biopic to hit theatres and, arguably, the best one yet. It’s a biographical musical-drama film directed by James Mangold, best known for directing films like Girl, Interrupted, Walk the Line, and The Wolverine. The screenplay was co-written by Mangold himself and Jay Cocks and was adapted from Elijah Wald’s 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric! A Complete Unknown was officially released on Christmas Day, December 25th, 2024. However, since news of the film was released, it had been receiving tremendous attention and hype in the media for months prior because of one major detail: Timothée Chalamet was set to star as Bob Dylan. Over worries that Chalamet, an actor who has practically dominated Hollywood since the success of Call Me By Your Name, could not live up to the legendary role of Bob Dylan, many people were counting down the days until they could determine whether he would do justice to the Dylan legacy or absolutely butcher the portrayal. As someone who has written a Timothée Chalamet movie review for the ROAR every year since starting high school, I was sure he would do an incredible job– and I feel confident in saying that he exceeded my best expectations. 

Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) and his lover Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning) in A Complete Unknown. (Searchlight Pictures).

A Complete Unknown, like Dylan Goes Electric!, follows the early years of Bob Dylan’s career, specifically from 1961 to 1965. It tells the story of his shocking, yet turbulent, rise to fame but avoids painting the full picture of his career. This narrow timeline allows for the biopic to better portray Dylan’s experience, musical influence, and complex relationships. It really doesn’t feel like a biopic but instead a collection of impactful moments in Dylan’s early years told in snapshots. Additionally, the sparse style in which the story is told complements the elusive and uncapturable figure that is Bob Dylan– the audience isn’t handfed every detail of what happens but rather has to put the pieces together based on his actions and sometimes rather mysterious words. My personal favorite one of these snapshots is when Bob Dylan writes the lyrics to "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)", my favorite song of his.

The film starts with Dylan’s arrival in New York City, where he meets his folk music heroes, Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, played by Scott McNairy and Edward Norton, respectively. Thereafter, he begins his musical journey through the folk scene, and, eventually, the rock scene of the 60’s.The story also chronicles his on-and-off romantic relationships with activist Sylvie Russo (whose real name was Rutolo) and folk music star Joan Baez, who are portrayed by Elle Fanning and Monica Barbaro. It tells a tale of Dylan’s confrontation with the expectations put on him from the folk community, the public, and the music industry as a whole, and, ultimately, his desire for artistic freedom. Moreover, the film is beautiful, skillfully illustrating the era of the 1960s, from the style of the characters to the counterculture atmosphere of New York City. 

Joan Baez (portrayed by Monica Barbaro) and Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) in A Complete Unknown. Photo via Searchlight Pictures.

Timothée Chalamet did an incredible job portraying Bob Dylan, perfectly matching everything from his lost puppy look and solitary poet vibe to his nasally voice. What’s more is that Chalamet actually performed all of the songs live, learning how to play guitar (super well, by the way) and sing in Bob Dylan’s unique style. In all, he played a whopping forty of Dylan’s songs live for the camera. His dedication to the role pays off: the movie’s soundtrack almost sounds as good as the original songs, and its authenticity creates a truly chilling experience to witness from a movie theater seat. I think the world, in all of its current chaos, needed to see Chalamet as a musician because, honestly, what can’t this man do? It honestly blows my mind that he became this musically talented solely for a role. And no, I’m not referring to Lil Timmy Tim.

Photo via A Complete Unknown.

I loved everything about A Complete Unknown except for the end. Without spoiling it, I’ll say that it gets way too comical when Dylan finally goes electric. The build up to the final scenes are emotional and tense, but the end is simply too predictable and silly, especially in terms of supporting characters. It reminded me a bit of Elvis when Elvis Presley also goes electric and his whole crowd erupts. The end made the film disappointingly similar to other biopics that fall into the trap of an all too vitriolic musical finale. Nevertheless, A Complete Unknown was a biopic that set itself apart in many other ways, including music, plot structure, and cinematography. For that, along with Chalamet’s phenomenal performance, I give it 4.5 stars out of five.

A Complete Unknown was released by Searchlight Pictures and has been available in theatres since December 25 2024. It is rated R and runs for 141 minutes.