Released: 2024-12-25
New York, early 1960s. Against the backdrop of a vibrant music scene and tumultuous cultural upheaval, an enigmatic 19-year-old from Minnesota arrives in the West Village with his guitar and revolutionary talent, destined to change the course of American music.
Drama
Music
7.1 / 1604
Duration: 141 min.
Budget: $65.0M
Revenue: $140.5M
CinemaSerf
Rating:7/10
I grew up in an household that loved Bob Dylan and Joan Baez (though not equally from parent to parent!), and I think it really only instilled in me a sense of contrariness. The more my dad banged on about how great Dylan and his lyrics were, the more that fell of deaf childish ears. Sitting down now I was worried I'd revert to my self of fifty-odd years ago, but thanks to a pretty convincing effort from Timothée Chalamet I actually found my feet moving - and not towards the door! It doesn't do him any harm that he resembles the man, and he manages to convey something of the spirit of this poet who, upon hearing that Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy) is on his last legs in hospital, travels to New York to track him down. He finds Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) at the bedside of a sick man, plays him a song he's written about his hero and now thanks to some patronage from Seeger he starts to get gigs, meets "Sylvie" (Elle Fanning) then the already successful Baez (Monica Barbara) before taking the world - and Johnny Cash (Boyd Holbrook) by storm. It's a classy biopic that, though chronological, isn't just a straight history of the man. It shows his character, warts and all, as he comes to terms with his success and some of the temptations and fickleness that goes along with it. Many critics say Dylan is the worst singer of his own songs and Chalamet keeps up that tradition offering some authentic sounding, but different enough, interpretations of some of the man's most recognisable songs. Barbaro also turns in well as Baez, though I found her voice just a little too operatic and not quite as effective. The production is clearly high-end with loads of attention to the detail, but essentially this is really a chance for Chalamet to show he is more than just a (very) skinny boy with floppy hair. Purists of the artiste may hate it, but I think it quite powerfully characterises this group of free thinking individuals in a 1960s America dealing with a presidential assassination, communist threats and a general sense of paranoia amongst a public that was clearly crying out for something to hope for. Dylan et al delivered some of that, and this comes across well.
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Brent Marchant
Rating:6/10
Tribute biographies have become an increasingly popular film genre in recent years, though, truthfully, they’re not all of the same caliber. Content and authenticity play significant roles in their overall quality, but, as experience has shown, these traits can vary widely, depending on the picture. As for writer-director James Mangold’s homage to musician-folk singer-songwriter Bob Dylan (Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet), the film presents viewers with a mixed bag on these fronts. While this effort seems to mostly get things right in matters of authenticity, it comes up somewhat short on content, despite its protracted 2:21:00 runtime, what should amount to sufficient duration to nail down the most crucial cinematic particulars. “A Complete Unknown” follows Dylan from his arrival in New York in 1961, where he quickly became the latest sensation on the Greenwich Village folk music scene, through his rise to stardom as an emerging music industry icon and culminating in his controversial performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, where he traded in his acoustic guitar for an electric model, a switch met with mixed reactions but that launched him in innovative new directions musically. Along the way, viewers are let in on passing scenes from his personal life, such as his friendships with fellow musicians Pete Seeger (Oscar nominee Edward Norton), Johnny Cash (Boyd Holbrook) and Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy), as well as his passionate but stormy romances with Sylvie Russo (a pseudonym for real life love interest Suze Rotolo) (National Board of Review Award winner Elle Fanning) and fellow folk singer Joan Baez (Oscar nominee Monica Barbaro). But, regrettably, much of the narrative is little more than a loosely strung together collection of sequences designed to showcase an array of Dylan’s greatest hits from the early days of his career, as well as those of his peers. While the songs are indeed capably performed by the actors themselves, after a while though, the film feels more like an anthology of music videos than an insightful biography. In fact, Dylan’s character comes across as largely enigmatic and inscrutable, a take on his persona alleged to be true to form but that doesn’t offer a great deal of enlightenment into his nature – that is, other than often making him look like a first-class jerk (the noble content of his social activism compositions notwithstanding). Consequently, this candid but somewhat unflattering approach almost makes one wonder whether a protagonist like Dylan is innately worthy of such an homage, even if the finished product is on point (and ironically lends credence to the meaning of the film’s title, whether intentional or not). All things considered, on balance, the filmmaker’s effort here is passable as a capably made tribute bio, with generally fine performances (especially Fanning, who genuinely should have earned supporting actress award kudos over her somewhat overrated co-star), commendable period piece production values and a fine soundtrack (if one is an ardent Dylan fan, that is, something I honestly can’t claim to be). But is this release really worthy of all the awards season attention it has garnered? That seems like something of a stretch to me, but, given the lackluster nature of the crop of 2024 awards season candidates, the pickings have admittedly been somewhat slim. Devotees of the protagonist are virtually certain to come away from this offering suitably impressed, though the rest of us are more likely to heave a modest shoulder shrug and move on to the next movie.
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r96sk
Rating:8/10
'A Complete Unknown' is a biopic worth watching. I only know of Bob Dylan by name and possibly some vague recognition of a few of his songs, as is usual for me it seems; uncultured swine. Therefore, I was only coming into this to see how it came out as a film - it's very good! Timothée Chalamet's portrayal is impressive for the large majority, I will say his schtick comes across as a little forced in one or two parts (only one or two) and I also had difficulty totally understanding him in a few moments (only a few). Edward Norton is good too, I thought he'd feature more; if only because I saw him on the promo trail with Chalamet a lot. Elle Fanning and Monica Barbaro offer noteworthy performances, everyone on the cast is perfectly fine to be fair. The music seems well done to me, again I'm not someone who definitively knows Dylan's work but it felt well shown. It's possibly too prevalent, which is a weird thing to say about a musician biopic but there's a lot of music in this. The end at the festival is the scene that I'll remember most from this, the sound design is particularly excellent; was practically bouncing in my seat due to the noise. If I was to mention any negatives, or at least things that aren't proper positives, it would be the pacing and run time. Not that I'd explicitly class those as bad parts of this though.
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Louisa Moore - Screen Zealots
Rating:/10
Bob Dylan fans should know that director James Mangold’s “A Complete Unknown” isn’t trying to do an in-depth study of the folk music legend, but it’s a solid ride for anyone who loves his music or is curious about his early days. The film gives us a peek into the ‘60s when Dylan was just starting to make waves, showing him as this enigmatic, difficult, and very self-absorbed figure who was about to change the music world for the better. A real treat for fans of Dylan’s music, the film captures the essence of the man without trying to over-analyze him. The story gives a cool glimpse of who he was during the pivotal time in his career when he went from a fresh-faced, unknown folk singer to a game-changing, controversial figure. Timothée Chalamet does a fantastic job portraying Dylan, both in terms of his look and his attitude. He channels the aloof, enigmatic, and often prickly demeanor that Dylan has always been (and remains) famous for. In reality, it’s a well-known fact that Dylan’s always been a bit of a jerk, and Chalamet nails that part of his personality. It’s not so much about exploring Dylan’s selfish psyche as it is about watching him move through this phase of his life, seemingly unaware or uninterested in the way he’s affecting those around him. His relationship with the iconic musicians in his orbit, like Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro, in a wonderfully understated performance) and Johnny Cash (Boyd Holbrook, who completely chews up the screen that is oh-so-Cashlike), feels a little cold and distant, which makes sense for the character. The film centers around the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, the infamous event where Dylan electrified his sound and alienated some of his folk music fans in the process. This moment, which was a major turning point in his career, is depicted in a way that focuses on the tension and not just the performance itself. Dylan’s self-centeredness and drive to push boundaries are clear, but the film doesn’t really dig too deep into the reasons behind his decisions. In other words, Dylan’s just kind of doing his thing, as artists often do. The supporting cast is solid as well, with Ed Norton as Pete Seeger adding some nice weight to the narrative, and Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo playing a key role in Dylan’s personal life. The standout, of course, is the music. The renditions of Dylan’s classic songs are excellent (with Chalamet performing the tunes himself), and the film captures the electric energy of the era’s folk scene. “A Complete Unknown” doesn’t offer much new insight into Dylan as a person, but if you’re a fan of his music and the era, it’s a blast to spend time with him. This is not a groundbreaking biopic, but a fun, nostalgic journey through a key moment in music history. By: Louisa Moore / SCREEN ZEALOTS
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GenerationofSwine
Rating:1/10
I wanted to see it in the theater, but on the way there I realized that I don't smoke enough pot to like more than a couple of his songs and one of them I liked better when Jimi did it anyway, so my wife and I went on a bike ride instead and I waited until it hit Hulu. The thing about it is, despite not liking his music, I do like the music from his era a hell of a lot, and the trivia, and even the conspiracies around them that I only sometimes believe... no, it's 2025, I don't know what to believe... but I know enough about Bob to be dangerous and that sort of means I know enough about him to be irritated on it's total lack of accuracy. I'm pretty sure AI wrote the bulk of the script. It's not that he wasn't iconic, I get that he was, I even understand why people like him, and Rod Stewart, I even like the occasional singer that is constantly off key, that wasn't the problem. The problem was that it wasn't a movie about Bob. It felt more like AI looking at Ray, Bohemian Rhapsody, Walk the Line, La Bamba, Great Balls of Fire, the biopics of famous musicians, combined it with Almost Famous, and then generated a generic script based on what AI thought his life story should be based of the success of other music biopics. It's so filtered, it's practically Bob Dylan with autotune. Not sure how people could like it.
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JPRetana
Rating:/10
Timothée Chalamet is too bland, insipid, milquetoast, and vanilla to play larger-than-life Bob Dylan. Even if A Complete Unknown (2024) is about Dylan’s humble beginnings, you still need someone who can hint at the greatness to come. Then again, this Bob Dylan is referred to as both a “jerk” and an “asshole.” If that’s the vibe co-writer/director James Mangold was aiming for, then Chalamet’s casting is spot on. No need to go method on this one; just be your usual rebarbative self. Whether Chalamet’s performance is accurate doesn’t really matter, though. A Complete Unknown is not a biopic so much as a spiritual successor to Masked and Anonymous, which wasn’t biographical but did star Dylan basically playing himself. In his review of Masked and Anonymous, Roger Ebert wrote, “I don’t have any idea what to think about [Bob Dylan]. He has so long since disappeared into his persona that there is little received sense of the person there.” A Complete Unknown seems made to remind us that Dylan remains to this day a cipher wrapped in an enigma smothered in secret sauce. The film’s title, I regret to report, is not ironic. In this case, there is little received sense of the person or the artist. The movie includes lots of song playing but precious little songwriting. And I don’t mean just the physical act of setting words on paper. I’m talking about letting inspiration find you working. For example, Dylan is shown watching a newscast regarding the Cuban missile crisis. That very same night, he has not only written “Masters of War” but is already performing it live (in reality, the song “was written over the winter of 1962-63”). I’m afraid that this lack of interest in Dylan’s creative process is a deliberate choice. At one point he whines, “Everyone asks where these songs come from ... But when you watch their faces, they’re not asking where the songs come from. They’re asking why the songs didn’t come to them.” I, for one, am asking where they come from — no more, no less —, and surely I can’t be the only one. Mangold, however, not only neglected but apparently actively refused to shed any light on Bob Dylan the songwriter. The same applies to Dylan’s personal life. The closing intertitles inform us that, in 1975, Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro) “wrote the hit “Diamonds and Rust” about her tempestuous relationship with Dylan.” We’ll have to go listen to it, since the film omits the “tempestuous” part. Dylan’s other romantic interest is on-and-off girlfriend Suze Rotolo — renamed Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning) — who complains that she doesn’t “know” Dylan (join the club, sister) and ultimately breaks up with him because, well, I dunno. In her own words, “I feel like one of those plates, you know, that the French guy spins on those sticks on The Sullivan Show ... I’m sure it’s fun to be the guy, Bob, but I was a plate.” Huh? Between Dylan being Dylan (and not much else) and musical numbers of songs we have heard a thousand times, the movie slowly crawls toward the not-so-grand finale — the so-called electric controversy, to which the script alludes too early in a manner that feels more like preordination than foreshadowing. Other than that, there’s little in the way of build-up to it and zero follow-up after it, so that its causes and ramifications are left thoroughly unexamined. As depicted in A Complete Unknown, the moment wherein Dylan went electric was indeed an uncalled-for, rhymeless and reasonless jerk move. Do you know who was an early 1960s folk-singing jerk too (albeit a fictional one)? Llewyn Davis. The difference (other than a decent runtime) is that Inside Llewyn Davis didn’t hero-worship its jerk.
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