Title – A Complete Unknown (2024) 

Director – James Mangold (Logan)

Cast – Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, Boyd Holbrook, Dan Fogler 

Plot – Explores the early years of music icon Bob Dylan (Chalamet) as he arrives in New York in the 1960’s and quickly begins to take over the folk music scene with support from folk hero Pete Seeger (Norton), girlfriend Sylvie Russo (Fanning) and fellow musician/part time lover Joan Baez (Barbaro).   

“I don’t think they want to hear what I want to play”

Review by Eddie on 24/01/2025

Proving once more that he’s a master of the type of true life tale/bio that your parents are sure to be appeased by, James Mangold returns to the space that has treated him so well in the past with the undeniably enjoyable Walk the Line and Ford v. Ferrari with his slice of life Bob Dylan bio A Complete Unknown, a film that’s unspectacular in its workmanlike approach and direction but also highly satisfying in a variety of ways. 

As of the week of writing this review nominated for a strong haul of 8 Academy Award nominations including key categories such as Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor, Unknown will disappoint those long-term Dylan fans or general cinemagoers expecting a warts and all exploration of Dylan’s life before and in the public spotlight but Mangold alongside his cowriters Jay Cocks and Elijah Wald ensure this is an engaging insight into the formative years of Dylan’s career as well as an exploration of the American music scene of the early/mid 60’s and America as an evolving landscape. 

Struggling at times to match its many musical and performance numbers in the downtime segments where Timothée Chalamet’s Dylan interacts with the likes of Edward Norton’s Pete Seeger, Elle Fanning’s Sylvie Russo, Monica Barbaro’s Joan Baez or perhaps most amusingly Boyd Holbrook’s Johnny Cash, Unknown bravely lets its use of and focus on music and sense of place take centre stage throughout most of its close to two and a half hour runtime and if you’re willing to go along for the ride Unknown ends up being a transformative movie watching experience.    

The type of feature where you can sit back and be taken away by even if there’s no particular point A to point B plot point driving us along, Unknown is founded off a collection of impressive performances from a stacked cast with everyone bringing their A-games, lead by a pitch-perfect Chalamet who once again proves to us why he should be regarded as one of it not the brightest talents active in Hollywood today. 

Debatably his second best lead turn from 2024 releases after his criminally underrated performance in the monumental Dune: Part Two, it doesn’t take long for Chalamet to completely disappear into his role as the mysterious and not entirely likeable Dylan with his nothing short of incredible musical performances (instruments and all) and inhabitation of the iconic Dylan a highlight of the film alongside Mangold’s handling of many Dylan classics and other musical masterpieces from the era.

A film you best avoid if folk music isn’t your cup of tea, Unknown often lets the music do the talking and whether its a show-stopping rendition of The Times They are A-Changin’ or many great duets Chalamet conducts with Barbaro’s Baez, Mangold strikes gold with his infusion of music into his tale and while you won’t walk away feeling much wiser about what formed Dylan the performer or how his brain works, there’s much to takeaway from this steady and polished offering. 

Final Say – 

A highly enjoyable exploration of a particular time and place in Bob Dylan’s life and the American music scene of the 60’s, A Complete Unknown is a typically solid Mangold true life drama that thrives in its musical numbers and radiates whenever its leading man is given the spotlight. 

4 pen pal letters out of 5