A Complete Unknown, a biopic showcasing folk-music-icon Bob Dylan’s rise to fame, debuted in theaters on Dec 25, 2024. The movie features Timothèe Chalamet, Monica Barbaro, Elle Fanning, and Edward Norton. The film is based off of the book Dylan Goes Electric! by Elijah Wald.
The movie opens in the early 1960s, when a young Dylan moves to New York. Throughout the film, audiences view various performances of Dylan’s, including the controversial 1965 Newport Folk Festival, in which Dylan showed up sporting a Fender electric guitar rather than his typical Martin or Gibson. The movie showcases many familiar faces in American music history, such as folk singer-songwriter Joan Baez (played by Monica Barbaro),Pete Seeger (played by Edward Norton), Johnny Cash (played by Boyd Holbrook), and Woody Guthrie (played by Scoot McNairy). Not only does the film focus on many of Dylan’s musical journeys, but it also takes the time to portray a few of Dylan’s romantic relationships along the way, such as Suze Rotolo (renamed Sylvie Russo in the film), who is played by Elle Fanning. Many iconic moments in Bob Dylan’s earlier career are witnessed in the film, such as the photoshoot for Dylan’s second studio album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. Many of the writing processes for some of Dylan’s most popular songs were shown too, including Blowin’ In The Wind, The Times They Are A-Changin’, Like A Rollin’ Stone, and many other familiar tunes.
A Complete Unknown has been rated 5 stars on Rotten Tomatoes. Award-wise, the film currently has 8 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, and others. Chalamet, who has previously been nominated for 140 awards, is nominated for Best Actor for his portrayal of Dylan. The Oscars will take place on March 2nd, 2025.
