“A Complete Unknown” starring Timothée Chalamet as cultural powerhouse Bob Dylan was released in theaters Dec. 25, 2024. While there have been many biopics about musicians, many have failed to impress viewers. “A Complete Unknown,” however, managed to tell the story of a man whose life remains a mystery to just about everyone, without making up stories or over-embellishing to make the movie more interesting.
Throughout his decades of fame, Bob Dylan has chosen to keep private about a lot of his life. This was depicted in the film very well; we see numerous situations where Dylan talks about changing — not necessarily for the better, just different. He shows a clear disinterest in knowing about others’ pasts, which is in line with him not sharing much about his own past with others. This is done masterfully in the film, as it not only accurately depicts Dylan, but also prepares the viewer to better understand the end of the film and why Dylan was so adamant about performing his electric set, despite clear disapproval from the audience and his management. He didn’t seem preoccupied with whether or not his change was better or worse; he seemed to have accepted early on that people simply change, and that’s that.
The film did a very good job of not putting Dylan on a pedestal. Despite his overwhelming and undeniable talent, they also showed us his nuances and flaws. We often see talented artists viewed as morally superior by others. This can easily lead to two beliefs: art made by bad people is bad, and those who make good art are good people. Bob Dylan is a very talented artist, as shown throughout the movie, but also shown was how he made many mistakes. This balance was done very well, which many biopics fail to do.
Dylan also talked about having to be a freak to maintain the attention of others. This provides more context as to why Dylan behaves the way he does, which may seem peculiar to some. The film doesn’t at any point attempt to define Dylan in one way or another; they allow his music to speak for him, as well as his activities. This is much preferable in my opinion, as many biopics try to create a clear, but untruthful character of their subject, leaving audiences with a misconstrued idea of a person.
Another aspect where this film soared compared to other biopics of musicians is in its ability to integrate the musician’s songs without overdoing it or failing to integrate it enough. In making a biopic about Bob Dylan, it seems logical to use his music as the main way to give the viewers an understanding of his inner workings. Many people felt he was portrayed hollowly, seeing as he doesn’t speak much and when he does, he is relatively monotone. This is realistic to the actual Bob Dylan, who as I mentioned above, is very private. However, whatever insight we may have into his inner psyche is learned through his songs and their lyrics. The movie reflects this.
Despite most having little information about Dylan’s past, the film subtly mentioned tidbits that those who are knowledgeable about Dylan would pick up on. We are reminded throughout the film about Dylan’s view on people changing, which ultimately led to the finale of his performance at the Newport folk festival that angered many attendees due to him playing electric. I found the early references to his beliefs that people change and aren’t necessarily better, but different, to be important in his switch to electric. A lot of people were upset by this change and were adamant that it was a change for the worse, but Dylan made it clear that he wasn’t interested in that line of thinking. He didn’t want to be defined by his past as a folk musician. The film did a good job setting that up and showing the viewers that this is Dylan’s line of thinking.
Of course, the acting makes this film stand out, especially in a genre where viewers are easily taken out of the film; knowing it’s about a real person makes it easy to remember it’s an actor on screen, especially one as well-known as Timothée Chalamet. The singing and performances of each character were amazing.
The film managed to create a well-balanced biopic in a post “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” world, in which just about all biopics describing lives of famous musicians look like a joke. If you’re looking for a more subtle biopic that doesn’t lean into drug use and over-dramatic scenes, while still telling an engaging story about a real-life musical icon, I recommend this film.