A Complete Unknown is an honorable tribute to an absolute legend and is also the film that should anoint Timothée Chalamet officially as a movie star. Hopefully, a new generation will find inspiration from Bob Dylan the same way my father did so many years ago through A Complete Unknown. 

About ten years ago my father took me to see one of his favorite musical artists in concert: Bob Dylan. As an idiot teenager, I didn’t get the hype, but my father stood up the whole time and knew the words to every song. Bob Dylan was a life-changing figure for him, so when this film was announced starring Timothée Chalamet, the actor of my generation, this perfectly combined our two interests. I was terrified that A Complete Unknown would fall into the same trap as many other biopics and be sauceless, but thankfully my fears were instantly assuaged. 

A Complete Unknown tells the story of Bob Dylan’s origins in the folk music scene in New York City and how he controversially transitioned to electronic music in the mid-1960s. The film begins with Dylan (Chalamet) hitchhiking his way to New York City in search of the ailing folk singer Woody Guthrie, an idol of his. After getting some directions from a fellow patron at a bar, he makes his way to Greystone Park Hospital, unfortunately back in New Jersey. He finds Guthrie (Scoot McNairy) and fellow folk singer Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) sitting together in the hospital. When they see his guitar, they ask Dylan to play them a song, and he obliges. He plays a song he wrote about Woody Guthrie, and the two musicians are utterly charmed. Seeger takes Dylan back to his home to stay and over the next few months helps this young 20-year-old get his start in the folk music scene. He ended up signing with Columbia Records who was looking for a folk singer to round out their catalogue. 

Over the next few months, he meets two women, both of whom are integral to his life. First, he meets fellow musician Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro), a popular singer-songwriter, during his debut performance at Folk City. Then, he meets his soon-to-be girlfriend Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning) at a church where he is performing. She was a radical for the time, championing racial equality and being staunchly anti-war. She opens his mind to injustice in the world, takes him to rallies, and they have spirited debates. After his first album of all covers comes out, she must travel abroad for 12 weeks for school, leaving him to his own devices. He begins his affair with Baez after she catches his emotional performance at The Gaslight. He quickly finds success in the industry but demands from the folk music community and other big wigs in suits start to wear on him, leading him to search for passion in a musical style he has been restricted from entering. 

At the center of the film is Chalamet’s brilliant portrayal of Bob Dylan. It’s not that he learned the guitar, harmonica, and piano, and it’s not that he’s singing live or that he’s doing Dylan’s specific voice, although all of that is admirable. Chalamet perfectly captures the essence of Bob Dylan. His natural charisma shines through Dylan’s lowkey personality, and he is effortlessly charming. He seems like he teeters back and forth between his own little world and reality, only truly tuning in at the vital moments. He wields his attention like a knife, which can be a blessing or a curse. Despite Dylan being the titular character, he rarely seems to be the point of view character of the scene. Often the film captures other characters looking at Dylan, trying to figure out what’s going on in that head underneath his puffy hair and sunglasses. Although we get tidbits of backstory, the film remains true to the title, that he is an enigma. His aloof behavior and unbelievable talent are what made Dylan so desirable, but they are also what make him forever unattainable. Chalamet manages to be emotionally distant, and a bit of a jerk, yet is still insanely captivating. 

As if we weren’t lucky enough with Chalamet, the supporting cast is also brilliant in their portrayals. Edward Norton as Pete Seeger is kindhearted and soft-spoken, with sincerity flowing through his veins. He has a monologue toward the end of the film that he delivers with heartbreaking kindness. Monica Barbaro’s voice is soulful just as Joan Baez’s was, and she matches her vibrato perfectly. She is great as one half of the passionate duo. Barbaro has the showier role with her singing, but Elle Fanning as Sylvie brings a delicate touch to her character. She communicates so much silently, only using her eyes to show her emotional journey. And finally, Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash is a scene-stealer. It’s upsetting to have such an electric performance dangled in front of us and know that we will never see him grace our screens in the same way again. 

Although A Complete Unknown centers around Bob Dylan, the film asks a deeper question about the relationship between musical artists and their supporters: What do we owe each other? Dylan became popular for his start in folk music, but does that mean he’s not allowed to evolve his musical style? Pete sees Dylan as a conduit to grow the popularity of folk music to attempt to enact genuine change. Does Dylan owe Seeger anything since he brought Dylan under his wing and started his career? At the beginning of the film, Dylan admits to him that he likes all kinds of music and that he doesn’t specifically think of himself as a folk singer. When he meets Bobby Neuwirth (Will Harrison), a fellow musician and his future road manager, he admits he doesn’t want to be whatever everybody else wants him to be. Based on his attitude, his career success doesn’t equate with happiness in his personal life. He seems like he’s finally regained a sense of joy when he sees Bobby perform with his group, and he becomes inspired to try something new in the studio. On the flip side, does he owe his fans since he wouldn’t be as successful without them? There is a scene specifically depicting this scenario. When Dylan and Baez are performing a concert together, Dylan refuses to play their most iconic duet, but Baez claims that is what the audience came here for. The climax of the film is a pressure cooker of fans, folk music purists, and Bob Dylan all doing what they think they have the right to do. These questions about the role of the artist are still important today. For example, two of our biggest musical artists today, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, have changed genres multiple times and have received polarizing responses. 

Mangold is a solid director, but for a film about one of the most interesting musicians of all time, it lacks a little visual pizzazz. Although there are some nice shots with soft lighting in the club scenes, it altogether looks rather standard. Dylan himself was an artist with many published drawings and paintings, and it would’ve been nice for the visuals to match his uniqueness as an artist (musical or otherwise). It’s a relatively minor nitpick, but adding a touch of personality would bring this great film up another notch to fantastic. The highlights of the film are the concert scenes, especially Dylan’s rousing performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. And even though they are live performances, the sound comes across as clear as day. 

A Complete Unknown exceeds expectations and sidesteps the pitfalls that regularly befall a biopic. The choice to center the film in this specific four-year span about Bob Dylan’s origins into his transition to electric was a smart choice from writers James Mangold and Jay Cocks. The film provides context as to why he is such an icon without feeling compelled to give a full biography of his childhood and map out why he is the way he is. A Complete Unknown is an honorable tribute to an absolute legend and is also the film that should anoint Chalamet officially as a movie star. Hopefully, a new generation will find inspiration from Bob Dylan the same way my father did so many years ago through A Complete Unknown. 

Grade: A

Oscars Prospects:
Likely: Best Picture, Best Lead Actor (Timothée Chalamet), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound
Should be Considered: Best Supporting Actor (Edward Norton), Best Supporting Actress (Monica Barbaro and Elle Fanning)

Where to Watch: In Theaters