James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown is barely a movie. There is very little conflict through the first two acts. The main conflict of whether Dylan will go electric is softened at best and non-existent at worst. The love triangle presented between Joan Baez, Dylan, and his first love Sylvie Russo is both unengaging and not compelling. But none of that really matters when you’re hearing Timothee Chalamet do a spot-on rendition of Blowing in the Wind.

A Complete Unknown is less a movie about Bob Dylan and more about the first time you heard Bob Dylan. The film is filled with these long sweeping shots of audiences in awe of Dylan performing his classic songs for the first time. Similar to how we as an audience become completely enraptured in Chalamet’s performance. A Complete Unknown may not be the best movie of 2024, but it’s one of the best times I’ve had at the movies in quite some time.

Becoming Dylan

Front and center throughout A Complete Unknown is Timothee Chalamet’s performance as Bob Dylan. Musical biopics are a dime a dozen and they typically hinge on the central performance of an iconic character. These films have had some great successes throughout the years. Mangold’s 2005 film Walk the Line comes to mind. But I can’t recall any actor who has truly embodied a character the way Chalamet does with Dylan.

It’s not just Dylan’s voice, demeanor, and guitar-playing chops that Chalamet nails. It’s Dylan’s general malaise for stardom that Timothee Chalamet absolutely owns during the film. Through his performance, we feel both his greatness and his blase’ attitude. Chalamate as Dylans commands audiences with only a guitar and his words. It’s easy to see why the film spends so much time just letting us hear Chalamet play these incredible songs.

Supporting Stardom

Behind Chalamet are some incredible supporting players. Specifically, Elle Fanning as Sylie Russo, a stand-in for Suze Rotolo. Dylan’s first love and cover artist for his seminal 1963 album The Freewheelin Bob Dylan. Watching Elle watch Chalamet play Dylan is some of the best acting work I’ve seen in 2024.

There is a scene about halfway through the film where the camera slowly zooms on Fanning as she watches an early Dylan control a room with his voice. She slowly goes from captivated to sorrowful. Subtly losing the smile on her face and forcing back tears from her eyes. In this brief shot, one with no dialogue or exposition, we understand everything we need to about their relationship. She sees the greatness in Dylan, how his voice defines a generation, and understands the great things he will go on to do. She realizes that this life she wants, of two artists living parallel careers sharing a home, will never come true. Bob Dylan has no regard for his fame or his talent. He doesn’t care that his words speak to a generation or the control he puts over a stadium with just his voice. And if Dylan doesn’t care about the thousands in awe of him, what chance is there for her?

Play The Hits

A Complete Unknown spends so much time just letting us sit and listen to Dylan tunes. Dylan becomes torn slightly between Sylvie and Joan Baez. He struggles a bit with Edward Norton as Pete Seeger over his eventual turn to electric-focused blues music. He even becomes pen pals with the great Johnny Cash. But this, the entire plot, is all secondary to just enjoying Bob Dylan’s music.

Around the start of the third act, Dylan attends a party with some high-up studio execs. They beg Dylan to play some music. It’s almost like the film is begging the same thing saying “It’s been ten minutes since we’ve heard a song. Forget the story let’s hear Chalamet play Subterranean Homesick Blues.” And the film delivers. Roughly every ten minutes the film stops and just becomes a concert. It’s not exactly a super long music video, but it isn’t too far off either.

The First Time You Heard Dylan

So much time is spent just being in awe of Bob Dylan. Mangold clearly has a lot of reverence and respect for the nobel prize winner and it shines through in his film. Structurally, the movie has problems. It is not a sweeping epic or even a deep dive into Dylan’s struggle with going electric as the film would suggest. It’s merely a showcase for the incredible songs Dylan has written throughout his illustrious career.

The performances in the film solidify A Complete Unknown as an Oscar contender. Few actors have been able to capture an iconic real-life figure the way Chalamet does here. It’s a performance that is both comfort food and Oscar-worthy. Seeing Dylan go from A Complete Unknown to the voice of a generation is a feat and while the film doesn’t necessarily nail that aspect, it does nail Bob Dylan. A quiet almost impossible-to-understand person who would rather talk to his audience through music than interviews. A Complete Unknown does the same. Highlighting his music and letting his story take a back seat. And the film is better for it.