In the 1960s, a young Bob Dylan moves to New York City to attempt to pursue a music career. Once there, he meets Pete Seeger and an ill Woody Guthrie, with whom he forges a bond. As his musical and romantic pursuits take off, he meets fellow artists including Joan Baez and Johnny Cash, and continues to rise up the charts from his own brand of folk music. He finds himself at a crossroads when he realizes the limitations of his musical style, ultimately opting to play electric, much to the dismay of his audience and fellow folk musicians on his path to stardom.
Is there anyone on the face of the earth who doesn’t know who Bob Dylan is? Even if you’ve never heard him doing a single song (and that’s pretty unlikely), you’ve almost certainly heard someone else covering his music. I’ve always considered Dylan more of a poet and a songwriter than an outright musician or performer, but have always been fascinated by the man. Upon hearing James Mangold, who’d previous helmed the amazing Johnny Cash biopic WALK THE LINE would be directing a Dylan biopic, with Timothee Chalamet portraying Dylan, this music fan was certainly enthused. Well-paced, well-acted, and featuring fabulous period detail and performances from an all-star cash, A COMPLETE UNKNOWN stands strong as one of the best films of 2024. Whether you’re a Dylan fan or not, it’s worth seeing despite its minor shortcomings.
There are not enough good things that can be said about Timothee Chalamet’s portray of Bob Dylan. This young man is one of the best actors working in movies today, and I have yet to find a single performance from him that’s not good. Whether he’s playing a young man exploring his sexuality, a bad boyfriend, a drug addict, a cannibal, or a sci-fi hero battling on a distant world, he’s great. Portraying American folk-rock legend Bob Dylan is certainly Chalamet’s biggest challenge to date, but he proves to be up for it, depicting the iconic singer in a pivotal period of a few years of his life. The wide range he shows here speaks for itself, and Mangold’s film doesn’t shy away from some of the less-than-favorite moments of his life and career. Timothee Chalamet IS Bob Dylan. Period. And I hope this isn’t the only time we see him play this role.
The supporting cast is a damn fine one as well, including Elle Fanning as Dylan’s on-again off-again love interest, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, Edward Norton as Pete Seeger, and even Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash (no word on if Joaquin Phoenix was asked to reprise his role from WALK THE LINE, though Mr. Holbrook is great as the Man in Black). These roles combined with the superb period detail ensure that A COMPLETE UNKNOWN transports its audience back to a bygone era when folk music (not to mention the world and society at large) was changing radically. There’s not a weak performance in the entire movie.
I have only two minor issues with the otherwise stellar film. Firstly, despite good pacing (the movie is never boring), some relationships and characters don’t quite get the fleshing out and development they deserve (for example, the presence of Al Kooper as a character feels more like a glorified cameo/name drop). The other issue is that the film only covers about a four-year period of Bob Dylan’s life, from 1961-1965. So, if you’re expecting to see things like the birth of Bob’s estranged son/Wallflowers frontman Jakob, or Dylan’s participation in The Traveling Wilburys, this movie sadly doesn’t go that far. Creating music biopics is tough because you’re required to condense a ton of time into a handful of hours, but I truly hope we’ll get a sequel with Mangold and Chalamet reteaming that depicts Dylan’s later life. It would be a missed opportunity not to see this.
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN doesn’t quite reach the heights of James Mangold’s earlier biopic WALK THE LINE, but it’s a superb effort with an Oscar-worthy performance from Timothee Chalamet, a great supporting cast, fabulous production and period detail, and of course, timeless music. It’s easily one of my favorite films of 2024, and I can’t wait until it hits home video so I can watch it again. Highly recommended!