When I first heard that Jewish actor Timothée Chalamet would star as Bob Dylan in the biopic “A Complete Unknown,” I was skeptical. For one, Chalamet is undeniably better looking than Dylan was in his youth. More importantly, Dylan’s distinctively gritty and nasal voice is notoriously difficult to mimic without veering into parody. It’s a challenging role that requires not only vocal precision but also the embodiment of Dylan’s enigmatic persona.
Yet, the 28-year-old Chalamet exceeds expectations. He convincingly transforms into the iconic Jewish songwriter, balancing Dylan’s aloof demeanor with flashes of intensity. His singing, remarkably true to the original, is another triumph, making him a near-lock for an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
Recreating Dylan’s 1960s New York
The film begins in 1961, as a 19-year-old Bob Dylan arrives in Greenwich Village, the bohemian heart of Manhattan. Right from the outset, Dylan’s meteoric rise is on full display: recording sessions, folk festivals, and rapidly growing fame. Yet, the film also highlights the tension between his artistic vision and the expectations of others, a conflict that would define much of his career.
Chalamet portrays Dylan as a young man uncomfortable with the fame thrust upon him — a dynamic central to the film. He also captures Dylan’s struggle to break free from the restrictive “folk Music” box that fans and critics tried to confine him to. The film doesn’t shy away from the backlash Dylan faced when he famously “went electric” at the1965 Newport Folk Festival, portraying the anger and sense of betrayal from fans and promoters alike.
Read more: Everything you want to know about Timothée Chalamet’s Jewish identity
“A Complete Unknown” leans into the qualities that have long made Dylan an enigma. Chalamet’s performance underscores this, echoing the man who famously declined to attend his own Nobel Prize ceremony in 2016. Yet, the character presented here is not merely a cipher. Through Dylan’s poetic monologues and the lyrics that defined a generation, the audience gets a glimpse of a thoughtful and deeply complex individual.
Director James Mangold has said he wanted to challenge the idea of Dylan as an unfathomable mystery. “I don’t think Timmy could play an enigma,” Mangold said. “This enigma has 26 monologues in the movie — poetic monologues in which he’s giving you everything he feels, and yet for us, it’s not enough. How much are we entitled to know, or is the gift of music enough?”
Chalamet embraces this approach, bringing Dylan’s anxieties and strengths to life with authenticity and compassion.
The songwriter’s biography lacks his craft
One noticeable shortcoming in “A Complete Unknown” is its treatment of Dylan’s songwriting process. While the film touches on his ability to craft timeless songs like “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Like a Rolling Stone,” and “Mr. Tambourine Man,” it offers little insight into how these masterpieces came to be.
The movie shows Dylan writing lyrics with a pen, almost as if the words flow effortlessly. For a film centered on a figure whose genius lies in his writing, this lack of depth feels like a missed opportunity. A more detailed exploration of Dylan’s creative process could have added significant richness to the story.
Rewriting history
As with many biopics, “A Complete Unknown” takes creative liberties for the sake of narrative cohesion. In a key scene, Dylan meets his idol Woody Guthrie at a New Jersey psychiatric hospital, accompanied by fellow folk legend Pete Seeger (played masterfully by Edward Norton). In reality, their meeting took place in a private residence.
Similarly, the depiction of Dylan and Joan Baez beginning their relationship during the Cuban Missile Crisis is fictionalized. While these choices condense the early 1960s and heighten dramatic stakes, they are understandable given the constraints of the short runtime.
A great supporting cast
The supporting cast elevates the film, with standout performances across the board. Monica Barbaro shines as Joan Baez, capturing her star power and complex relationship with Dylan. Elle Fanning brings warmth and depth to Sylvie Russo, a character inspired by Suze Rotolo, Dylan’s girlfriend and the muse behind “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” album cover.
Boyd Holbrook impresses as a confident, charismatic Johnny Cash, offering sage advice to Dylan about staying true to his artistic vision.
Norton’s portrayal of Seeger adds gravitas, showing both his mentorship and growing concern for Dylan’s shift toward electric music.
“A Complete Unknown” meets musical expectations
The film’s musical performances are another highlight. Chalamet explained in interviews that while he initially pre-recorded his vocals, he ultimately opted to sing live during filming.
“For me it was really the process of osmosis in a sense that I had five years to work on this,” Chalamet said. “…At some point, it stopped feeling like work…we were supposed to shoot in 2020, it went away because of the pandemic. We were supposed to shoot in the summer of 2023, then there was the strike, so it went away again. By the time we stared shooting, it felt like a relief.”
The actor sings 26 songs in the film and said he “profoundly loved the music.” Chalamet, alongside the other actors in the movie, also played their own instruments. He had to learn to play guitar for the role.
His timing is impeccable, both in his lyrical delivery and in the dry humor of his dialogue. He embodies Dylan’s aloofness, leaving those around him — including women vying for his attention — uncertain about their place in his life.
Bob Dylan’s Judaism
Bob Dylan has notoriously had a complicated relationship with his Judaism. After growing up going to an Orthodox synagogue and attending Jewish summer camp, in the 1970s the singer disavowed his Jewish background and became an Evangelical Christian.
However, by the 1980s, he’d return to rock ‘n roll and his Jewish roots. He began frequently meeting with rabbis, showing up on Chabad telethons, raising his children Jewish and traveling to Israel.
“A Complete Unknown” mostly separates itself from Dylan’s life as a Nice Jewish Boy in Minnesota, with only an quick mention that his real name is Robert Zimmerman. His Jewish background nor an explanation for his name change never come up.
Music to your ears
All of the musical performances in “A Complete Unknown” ring true, are charismatic, and give Chalamet the space to truly embody Dylan. It is no surprise that the singer approved of the performance.
Ultimately, “A Complete Unknown” succeeds where many biopics falter. It avoids feeling bogged down by its subject’s legacy, delivering a light yet compelling portrait of an artist who continues to intrigue and inspire. Even those unfamiliar with Dylan’s work will find themselves captivated by Chalamet’s performance and the film’s music.
For fans of Dylan — and for those curious about the man behind the myth — this is a must-see.
