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A Complete Unknown

I’ve been sitting at my computer for a while now trying to think of a good introduction to my thoughts about A Complete Unknown, but I haven’t come up with anything good – and I think this is happening for two reasons. First, I just watched a movie all about Bob Dylan, one of the great songwriters of all time, so I’m feeling a bit inferior when it comes to my words. Second, I kinda just can’t get past the trance that Timothée Chalamet had me in for his electric (get it?) performance as Dylan; it was nothing short of a firm confirmation that he is a bonafide superstar and one of the best actors of his generation. We’ll touch on that more in a little bit, but first, a brief history of my experience with Bob Dylan and his music.

Honestly, there isn’t actually much to it! I learned about Bob Dylan in high school during my history class – I was in a specialized program called AHLISA (American History and Literature Integrated with the Social Arts), so we focused a little more on the artsy side of history and literature. This meant spending time on the musical boom of the late 50s and early 60s, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and of course, Bob Dylan. The only real things I remember from that lesson were that Dylan was a savant of a songwriter, and that he made a lot of people mad when he started playing electric guitar. I tried listening to a couple of his songs, but my 16-year-old brain couldn’t really understand why Like a Rolling Stone was always at the top of any “Greatest Songs of All Time” lists – it just didn’t really do it for me. I never tried getting back into Dylan at an older age, because I was busy discovering my love of Kendrick Lamar and Twenty One Pilots (which took up most of my time). This movie was the perfect reintroduction to not only Bob Dylan’s insanely large catalogue1, but also his massive impact not only on American pop culture, but music as we know it today – and I think that was the biggest goal of A Complete Unknown.

I wrote about this on my Letterboxd review, but biopics will never get above four stars from me; they set out to achieve too unrealistic of a goal: capturing the lifetime of a generational artist and condensing it down to 120 minutes, while diluting any real controversy they faced and over-dramatizing other aspects in order to create an entertaining and money-making film. A Complete Unknown both bucks and falls in line with that trend – James Mangold certainly doesn’t shy away from showing us that Bob Dylan was just straight up an asshole and not a great person. But he also wrote a lot of songs that challenged authority and oppression, while never doing so out of a desire to capitalize on a movement or make money off of people’s suffering. He visited Woody Guthrie in the hospital and wrote a song mourning the death of a Black Panther member, but he also had very tempestuous relationships with multiple women, including Joan Baez, and has been credited by some as “inventing” the now-stereotypical idea of the arrogant diva rock star. Through all of this, though, the through-line of the film remains steady in showcasing Dylan’s music, and his influence on the folk and rock music scenes. On The Big Picture, Mallory Rubin talked about how this movie plays more like a concert film or a music video than an actual Hollywood film, and I tend to agree with her. There is no real plot or direction to the film, and there are arguably more lines sung than spoken. The dialogue is very minimal, and the film never really attempts to dig into Dylan’s past, or why he was writing these songs; instead, we are just along for the ride of the most critical years of his career, and get to experience a lot of the songs that came out of this period in different scenarios. Did he really premiere Masters of War on the night of the Cuban Missile Crisis, then shack up with Joan Baez, and then show her Blowin’ in the Wind the very next morning? Probably not. But that entire sequence was riveting to watch, and it was beautiful to get to hear their voices together for the first time, almost as if we were in the room with them for an intimate morning of serenading. Since we are on the topic, we might as well talk about the cast, their performances, and why it felt so different from most other musical biopics.

Did anyone else feel like the music in this movie just felt more authentic and real than most other musical dramas? If so, that was by design: every musical performance was recorded live while filming, and all actors sang and played their own instruments. Chalamet spent nearly four years learning how to play guitar and harmonica and spent time with the same team of vocal and movement coaches that worked with Austin Butler for his performance in Elvis. Monica Barbaro, who played Joan Baez, took guitar and vocal lessons, as she had never done either before. The crew used period-appropriate gear, too; they used the same microphones that were used by Dylan and his team at the time and worked with Gibson who lent them archival guitars from the 1960s. All of this leads to the songs feeling organic and authentic, without feeling like mimicries or swinging too far the opposite way and not sounding anything like the originals. Part of this is also accomplished by the incredible performance from Chalamet, who dials up the perfect impression of Bob Dylan without turning into a mimic or mockery of his unique voice. His on-screen chemistry with both Elle Fanning and Monica Barbaro is invigorating, while the very real hot and cold dynamic with Edward Norton as Pete Seeger leaves you wanting more exploration of their relationship. Even the limited interactions he has with Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash show the very clear admiration that the two had for each other, with Dylan even seeming intimidated by Cash at times for the larger-than-life superstar he had become. A round of applause for the entire cast here, who all did a truly remarkable job of making you feel like you were really watching Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger sing the blues together, instead of the disingenuous and over-produced performances we so often get from these types of movies.

Okay now real quick, can we talk about my guy Timmy Chalamet? Not only is he quickly becoming one of my favorite actors, but he is also solidifying himself as one of the best of his generation2. Am I putting him on the level of people like Leonardo DiCaprio and Meryl Streep? Of course not. But is he the Leonardo DiCaprio of his time? I think he might be! He came out of the fences swinging with a small role in Interstellar in 2014, and by 2017 he was co-starring in Call Me by Your Name. From there he never looked back, moving on to star or co-star in such films as The King, Little Women, The French Dispatch, Dune, Wonka, and now, A Complete Unknown. He’s covered the period pieces with Little Women and The King, he’s done the action-drama with Dune, The King (again) and Dune: Part Two, and he even threw in a high-budget IP movie that no one really loved in Wonka. And now, he cements his legacy with a killer performance as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, where most other people could have easily messed this up and made the whole movie pretty awkward and uncomfortable to watch. Let’s also not breeze over the fact that he has nominations for an Academy Award, four Golden Globe Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, five Screen Actors Guild Awards, and six Critics’ Choice Movie Awards.3 Also if you haven’t seen any of it yet, I’d highly recommend checking out literally any YouTube video from his press tour for this movie – he’s been on an absolute heater and is giving everyone more than their money’s worth for their time.

With that being said, we can roll4 into a limited selection of categories – since this movie is still in theaters, it makes it harder to discuss some of the categories (plus, I am trying to let this be relatively spoiler free so you can still enjoy it yourself).

By the Numbers

  • Release date: December 25, 2024
  • Budget: $50-70 million
  • Box office: $31.7 million5
  • Run time: 141 minutes
  • Letterboxd rating: 3.7 ★
  • My Letterboxd rating: 4.0 ★
  • Rotten Tomatoes: 78% (Certified Fresh ?)
  • Accolades: 66 total nominations, 9 total wins6
    • The Academy Awards have yet to announce their nominees, but I would imagine that A Complete Unknown will get a few nods.
    • 3 Golden Globe nominations (Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama [Timothée Chalamet], Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture [Edward Norton])
  • Thirteen: This is James Mangold’s thirteenth feature film that he has directed

Best Scene

  • The Opening Scene: I’ve mentioned this before, and I’ll say it again; it is really hard for me to not nominate a film’s opening scene as one of their best. If it’s a movie I feel is worth writing about, then that means I think it is a good movie, which means that they almost certainly have a really good opening scene – this is no exception. We see Bob arriving in Manhattan in 1961 in the back of a station wagon before taking in a cup of joe at a cafe. We quickly move to Bob visiting Woody Guthrie (and Pete Seeger) in the hospital before he plays Song to Woody for his musical heroes, before being invited to stay with Seeger and his family. It’s touching and well done by the three actors, and is our first taste of Chalamet playing and singing as Bob Dylan, while also showing the beautiful kind of music that Bob is capable of writing.
  • The Cuban Missile Crisis: Bob “premieres” a new song as the world reacts to the Cuban Missile Crisis, before spending the night with newfound fling Joan Baez. We then get Bob showing a new song to Joan before she joins in with some beautiful harmonies and transition into their artistic collaboration. Like most of these scenes, it’s all about the music here – we get to see more of the protest/social justice side of Bob’s writing and are treated to our first duets between Dylan and Baez. It is sonically beautiful, and really exemplifies the chemistry that Chalamet and Barbaro have with each other.
  • The 1965 Newport Folk Festival: Arguably the climax of the film (but also the part that every viewer knew was coming before they even saw the film), this is our lone slice of action and thrill. Bob obviously decides to go electric, much to the dismay of not only the planning committee and Pete Seeger, but also of the majority of the crowd. Dylan performs three songs all while being pelted with trash and being largely booed the entire time. But my favorite part is actually right before Dylan plays his set, when he runs into a drunken Johnny Cash who tells him to “track some mud” on the festival. Nothing like two of the biggest names in Folk music history interacting with each other and pushing them to be themselves, even if it ruffles some feathers.

I could list several more here, but again, I don’t want to go in depth on the entire film in case you haven’t had the chance to watch it yet and still plan to. There are technically no spoilers since all of this actually happened 60 years ago but hey, I gotta respect the no spoilers crowd. My pick here goes to the Cuban Missile Crisis sequence – I think we get some really good character acting from Chalamet and Barbaro, we see Dylan’s arrogance and snideness on full display (offering unwarranted criticism of Baez’s songwriting), and of course, we just get some really great musical performances.

The Jason Clarke Award (What’s Their Name Again?)

This is a two-horse race here, and I’m going to go ahead and discount Monica Barbaro from contention. Barbaro is still relatively new to feature films, so I don’t think we’ve seen her in enough to make you say to yourself “wait I know them from something!” That leaves us with Scoot McNairy (as Woody Guthrie) and PJ Bryne (as Harold Leventhal). I immediately recognized Scoot McNairy from Argo and Promised Land, and to me at least, he is Scoot McNairy and not “that guy from Argo”, so I can’t give him the win. Which means, by de facto, our winner is PJ Byrne, which I think is the rightful winner either way. You may recognize Byrne from his roles in Babylon, Horrible Bosses, Big Little Lies, or Dinner for Schmucks; but I’m sure you really recognize him from playing “Rugrat” in The Wolf of Wall Street. Congrats, PJ!

The Jack Nicholson Award (Big Impact, Small Role)

Another two-horse race, and another second-place finish for Scoot McNairy! Playing Woody Guthrie suffering from Huntington’s disease is a unique role to fill, but Scoot did an admirable job. I have zero experience with the disease, so I have no idea if it was an accurate portrayal or not, but it was certainly memorable. He was in just a few too many scenes for me, though, to truly qualify for winning this coveted award. That means our other nominee, deservingly so, will get the win – Boyd Holbrook and his portrayal of Johnny Cash. I believe he only has three total scenes, but his last appearance in the movie is what wins him the award for me. I won’t spoil much of it, but it is where we get the aforementioned “track some mud” quote that carries us into the climax of the film. Holbrook’s performance is short, pointed, and very memorable. Congrats, Boyd!

Trivial Pursuit

  • As mentioned earlier, Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Monica Barbaro and Boyd Holbrook all did their own performing. Chalamet learned to play the guitar and harmonica for the role, and Barbaro took voice lessons as she had never sung for a role before. Pretty impressive, and really lends to the organic performances from all four!
  • A Complete Unknown was originally greenlit back in January of 2020 but due to COVID precautions, the project was put on hold; they were then set to start shooting in August of 2023, but were put on hold once more by the SAG-AFTRA strike. Principal photography finally began in March of 2024 – all of these delays allowed Chalamet to spend nearly four and a half years to learn how to play the guitar and harmonica.
  • Chalamet was reportedly “relentless” about staying in character – so much so that most people on set referred to him as “Bob”, including the set call sheet.
  • Benedict Cumberbatch was originally slated to play Pete Seeger before having to drop out due to scheduling issues.

Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon

  • Timothée Chalamet: 2 (Chalamet appeared in Hostiles with Ava Cooper, who appeared in Black Mass with Kevin Bacon)
  • Edward Norton: 2 (Norton appeared in After the Sunset with Troy Garity, who appeared in My One and Only with Kevin Bacon)
  • Elle Fanning: 2 (Fanning appeared in I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With with Larry Neumann Jr, who appeared in Stir of Echoes with Kevin Bacon)
  • I checked all the major acting credits for this movie, and the highest number was two. The theory lives!

Concession Stand

This one is fairly easy since I literally just saw it in the theaters and went to an actual, real-life concession stand. I went with a small popcorn and a box of Buncha Crunch, which is my go-to combo for a movie; however, I actually don’t know if I would recommend that! It was the perfect amount of snacks (I could’ve used a water, actually), but I found myself more often than not having to try a little too hard to be quiet with my snacks since I didn’t want to miss any of the songs. This is obviously subjective, but I would say go with a snack that satisfies and that you can come back to a few times throughout the movie, but one that is naturally quieter than small hardened chocolate candies rattling around in a cardboard box. I definitely wouldn’t raw dog it though, because there are some spells where it just feels nice to be listening to Bob Dylan and eating some popcorn.

Conclusion

I really liked this movie. I don’t think it is an award-winning film, but this year’s lack of frontrunners leaves room for something like A Complete Unknown to not only be nominated but also win multiple awards, including Best Picture. As I mentioned at the top, biopics are really hard, and rarely done well – they are such a particular beast of a project to undertake, and usually end up being over produced and under-written. There’s too much that gets swept under the rug (be it good or bad for the subject), the dialogue is over-simplified, and the movie is plotless on a whole. A Complete Unknown isn’t immune to a lot of these, but it does such a good job elsewhere (specifically in both the sheer quantity and quality of the musical performances) that it more than makes up for that in my book. Is it for everyone? Absolutely not. But if you have a love for music, especially folk or folk adjacent, I’d recommend giving this a view. Bonus points for seeing it in a theater, because it can feel at times like you’re actually at a Bob Dylan concert which is pretty rad.

  1. To date, Bob Dylan has released over 40 albums, with an estimated figure of over 125 million records sold over a 60-year period. ↩︎
  2. He also just quietly passed over $1 billion for his career in the box office. ↩︎
  3. In total, he has 113 nominations and 41 wins across all awards shows. Not bad. ↩︎
  4. Get it, like his song? Like a Rolling Stone? I’m trying to make puns for every movie instead of just saying “let’s dive into the categories” so cut me some slack. ↩︎
  5. As of January 2, 2025 ↩︎
  6. As of January 2, 2025. Several awards shows, including the Golden Globes, have not happened yet. ↩︎