A Complete Unknown Review

Bob Dylan is arguably one of the greatest singer/songwriters ever to have lived. He has been the subject of many documentaries and the unofficial biopic I’m Not There. James Mangold, the filmmaker behind the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line takes on the challenge of making a biopic about another musical legend.

In 1961, Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) was a young aspiring musician who travelled to New York City and became involved in the folk scene. He makes a name for himself as a singer/songwriter who makes folk music more mainstream. However, as his fame and musical success rise, he must fight the folk establishment for artistic integrity and creative freedom.

Biopics about musicians are ten-a-penny. In 2024 there were films about Bob Marley, Amy Winehouse, Kneecap, Pharrell Williams, and Robbie Williams. A Complete Unknown finished off the year in North America, although British viewers had to wait for the opening month of 2025. Walk the Line has been seen as a film that set up the template for musician biopics and it was parodied in the 2007 film Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. A Complete Unknown had potential pitfalls since it could have fallen into the formulaic trap, been seen as Oscar bait, and tried to honour Dylan’s legacy.

A Complete Unknown was based on Elijah Wald’s biography Dylan Goes Electric! The film was split into two halves. The first half focused on Dylan’s rise as a mainstream musician who became more politically aware, leading to his writing some of the greatest protest songs. The second half focused on Dylan’s controversial decision to perform with electric instruments. The running themes that tie the film together was Dylan’s fight for creative freedom and his role as a force for change in the folk music world.

Dylan was in a constant battle against conservatism within the music industry. His first battle was with the record label which wanted Dylan to sing covers whilst Dylan wanted to perform original songs. Dylan’s girlfriend in the film, Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning) encourages him to write songs about modern issues like the Civil Rights Movement, the threat of nuclear destruction, and increased conflict in Vietnam. This led him to write songs like “Blowing in the Wind,” “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall” and “The Times They Are a-Changin.” This portion of the film was the most interesting to me since this was when Dylan was writing some of his best songs and The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan and The Times Are a-Changin’ are a couple of my favourite albums.

The second half of the film showed Dylan entering his diva phrase. He evolved from his scruffy, traveller look to being dressed in a shirt, suit jacket, and sunglasses. He also turned away from his hit songs to an electric sound. Dylan went from being a rebel for important causes to fighting the folk music traditional establishment. Admittedly the second half reminded me of The Simpsons episode “Homer’s Barbershop Quartet” and I thought Dylan would say ‘Folk is in danger of growing stale. I’m taking it to strange new places.’

By focusing on Dylan’s artistry, A Complete Unknown avoided following the same template of other musician biopics. The film concentrated on Dylan’s career from the early to mid-60s and only showed one change in his musical direction. The filmmakers were smart enough to know that they couldn’t make a film about the entirety of Dylan’s career.

A Complete Unknown had a star-studded cast. It had the likes of Chalamet, Monica Barbaro, Elle Fanning, Edward Norton, Scoot McNairy, Boyd Holbrook, and Dan Fogler. It’s hard to go wrong with these people. Chalamet continues his tremendous rise as an actor and plays an arrogant genius, especially during the second half where he used his fame to act as an agent of change. Everyone gave a strong performance, from Barbaro being a talented folk singer, Fanning experiencing heartbreak, and Norton’s Pete Seeger was wonderfully wholesome. Holbrook was unrecognisable as he cosplays as Johnny Cash.

A Complete Unknown was a crowd-pleaser because of the soundtrack. It’s hard to go wrong with Dylan’s early songs and their great performances throughout the film, from intimate playing sessions to gigs to festivals. Mangold is a skilled filmmaker and he creates some terrific sequences. One of the best was during the Cuban Missile Crisis when New York fell into a state of panic. The quality of the filmmakers makes a big difference compared to films like Respect and I Wanna Dance With Somebody which recruited gun-for-hire directors.

 A Complete Unknown was an enjoyable if safe biopic. It’s hard to go wrong with Dylan’s back catalogue and the cast gives the film their all, although A Complete Unknown wasn’t a deep dive into Dylan’s psyche.