Picture this: It’s 1961, and Woody Guthrie, a famous folk singer, is seriously ill. A young guy from Minnesota strolls in, calling himself Bob Dylan. Turns out, he’s actually Robert Zimmerman. Woody and his pal Pete Seeger listen to him play and quickly realize this kid’s something special.

Dylan jumps into the New York music scene in Greenwich Village and soon becomes a big deal among folk artists. People love how he mixes his unique musical touch with protest themes that really challenge the establishment.

Now about his love life—he’s dating Sylvie Russo but ends up having a fling with Joan Baez, who’s also making waves in the folk world. Fast forward to 1965: Dylan goes “electric,” ditching some of his political stuff for more surreal lyrics inspired by poets like Rimbaud and Dylan Thomas. The folks in Greenwich Village feel betrayed, but globally? People can’t get enough of him.

Trying to figure out Bob Dylan’s story is tricky business; it’s full of truths and myths all mixed up together. Director Mangold gives us a fresh take on the man that isn’t completely unconventional like Todd Haynes did with I’m Not There’s multiple versions of Dylan but still manages to avoid just going through the typical motions you’d expect from a biopic. With so much complexity surrounding him, it’s almost easier to just roll with who we think Dylan is today compared to how people saw him back then.
This movie zooms in on a particular time in Bob Dylan’s life when he was just starting out. It paints the picture of a young, ambitious musician who showed up out of nowhere with big ideas and a bunch of songs. Timothée Chalamet plays Dylan and brings out this mysterious, sometimes cocky side that makes it hard to connect him with the genius behind songs like “Masters of War” or “Like a Rolling Stone.” The film focuses less on telling Dylan’s full life story and more on capturing how his music spoke volumes about his thinking.

Director James Mangold decided to focus more on the music than your typical straight-through-the-events biography. So instead of sticking to a strict timeline, you get Chalamet performing some awesome renditions of Dylan’s tracks.

That means we don’t get all caught up in every historical detail; things are compacted and sometimes mixed around, like having Johnny Cash pop up at the Newport Folk Festival. But hey, maybe that’s just showing us how wild things feel in memories.

Edward Norton jumps into the role of Pete Seeger, one of those guys who sees something incredible brewing in Dylan—even if he knows he might end up overshadowed. The women characters? They don’t get as much spotlight or development here, which might leave you wanting more from their stories.
Hey there! So, let’s talk about “A Complete Unknown.” It’s one of those movies where the twists and turns really keep you on your toes. Monica Barbaro is super impressive when she sings like Joan Baez—those vocal scenes are something else! But when it comes to acting in those dialogue moments—like the ones with Dylan or Chalamet—it feels like she’s not quite hitting the mark, you know?

And okay, sure, with big projects like this, a few bumps in the road are kind of expected. But honestly? The magic happens when you look at everything together. It somehow manages to feel bigger and better than all its individual parts thrown together. You just gotta see it to get what I mean!