Musician biopics usually follow the same pathway. Troubled singer/performer who has a hard upbringing, leading to an angst-ridden career that may involve drinks and or drugs, sometimes a little abuse towards the opposite sex. A Complete Unknown, the biopic about Bob Dylan, refuses to follow that line. Instead, it covers a small period in his early career and doesn’t rely on past suffering but focuses on the music and the man as he changes the face of folk. To say it’s refreshing is one of the plus points of this terrific film.

Bob Dylan arrived in New York in 1961, looking for his hero, Woody Guthrie, who was hospitalised. There, he meets fellow musician Pete Seeger, who sees Dylan’s potential as a performer. We then follow his rise to stardom and his relationships with Sylvie Russo, an artist, and Joan Baez, the singer who captured his heart. This led to the notorious folk festival in 1965, where Dylan defied the organisers and played electric.

Directed and co-written by Walk The Line helmer James Mangold, he has captured a time in the life of Dylan with great skill, helped by excellent set designs and art direction, as well as a keen eye for the period, where the bohemian society ruled New York with its clubs devoted to poets and singers. Inserting news clips of key events of the time, Mangold literally transports us back to that time without it interfering with the story.

The focus on Dylan as he slowly climbs the ladder of success is key. There’s no need to go back in time to look at his upbringing. This is a man with a unique talent for songwriting, and we get to appreciate this fully. The music is what powers us through the film. There are so many moments when we enjoy his folk singing style that it is almost like watching one of his concerts. Yet Mangold does show us his troubled relationships with two women (one who is a fictional recreation) and Joan Baez, who some regarded as Dylan’s female counterpart. Instead of showing him in a good light, his time with these women is one where he doesn’t abuse them or is violent to them, yet he does use them, often for a place to stay or when he needs reassurance from them.

If you have seen the documentary Don’t Look Back, which follows Dylan’s time in London in the ’60s, you will know that he is confident in his own skin that drink and drugs don’t even enter his life, and the buzz he gets is from performing. Here, they try to capture that image. It also shows us how hard fame can be on a man who doesn’t want it. One scene where he turns up to watch a band in a bar ends with him being mobbed and shows how people believe that if you are in the public eye, you belong to them.

As I said, the music is the most essential part of this film. The scenes where Dylan goes from being an acoustic artist to introducing electric and his battles with the organisers of the Newport Folk Festival are well staged and fascinating. Mangold obviously loves this man’s music, and it comes across brilliantly.

The film has already been laudered with nominations for awards, mainly for the performances, and they are exceptional. Edward Norton, like Pete, has a quiet calmness that works perfectly in the chaos of Dylan’s world. Taking the banjo as his instrument of choice, it’s hard to imagine that he learnt it for the film. Equally brilliant is Monica Barbaro, just like Joan Baez. She captures her sweet tones and deals with the relationship that led Baez to produce the song Diamonds and Rust. Elle Fanning is equally good as Sylvie, the other woman in Dylan’s life.

Timothee Chalamet, as Dylan, is outstanding. Having proved he is a good singer in Wonka, he embodies the man fully and takes on the playing. He makes him a shy, sometimes awkward individual and still has that confidence as a performer. It is a masterful performance that proves he is an actor to watch as his career grows.

A Complete Unknown is one of the best musical biopics around, and without having to rely on fantasy like Rocketman and A Better Man, it tells Dylan’s story straight and shares his music, so those who know how good he is will get to appreciate him even more. Those who don’t, I guarantee, will be hitting his tracks once you’ve seen the film.

4 out of 5

Director: James Mangold

Starring: Timothee Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, Joe Tippet, Scoot McNairy, Dan Fogler, Eriko Hatsune

Written by: James Mangold, Jay Cocks and (based on the book) Elijah Wald

Running Time: 141 mins

Cert: 15

Release date: 17th January 2025