Not a Bob Dylan Biopic

A moment in counterculture

What a ride! I snagged an early screening ticket to James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown and found myself tapping my toes and humming through the credits.

Biopics—films about real people played by actors who channel extraordinary lives—tend to go too broad, muddling themselves in details that make the whole thing feel unbelievable.

But this movie isn’t one of those.

Instead, A Complete Unknown zeroes in on one pivotal period of Bob Dylan’s rise, creating a tight (albeit long) musical patch in the quilt of his life. While I’m more than happy to be living in 2024, this film made me wish I could walk the streets of 1960s New York City—a time of rebellion, progressive hope and tragedy, political tension, and, of course, incredible music. Mangold effectively captures the role emerging artists played in a wild socio-political movement, exploding in the wake of McCarthy’s Red Scare.

Timothée Chalamet absolutely crushes it, cementing his place as the New Hollywood poster child with an inspired channeling of Bobby D. This performance could snag him an Oscar—without the grueling ordeal of a Revenant-style project to get there (poor Leo). Mangold (Walk the Line, Logan) is a cool director, and draws you fully into the period, the music, and the effect young Dylan had on others. I almost said he draws you into the mind of Bobby, but that is certainly not the case, as the folk hero remains a total mystery to me… an enigma, I believe, by design.

I sat next to a sweet older couple during the screening that was clearly moved by the movie. Noticing them react to Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, and others made me imagine their lives in 1960s Austin, TX—a time when the music and the movement were inseparable. This is the film’s greatest strength: capturing the meaning of that era for the young people who lived it.

A Complete Unknown is fine American filmmaking that depicts vintage American time. It’s the perfect vibe for Christmas.