The early career of Bob Dylan is the subject of this impressive biopic, which departs from the traditional structure to offer a window into the world of a uniquely gifted artist who caused controversy simply by refusing to be defined…

Director: James Mangold

Writers: James Mangold and Jay Cocks

Inspired by: The non-fiction book Dylan Goes Electric! Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties by Elijah Wald (2015)

Script source: Deadline

At once folk hero and villain. A devotee of Woodie Guthrie who rejected his simple sound to “go electric”.  A young man seemingly without a history yet steeped in the traditions of the past. A passionate and devoted artist unable to bring that commitment to his personal life. Hungry for success, yet filled with revulsion at its responsibilities…

In other words, a complete unknown.

The film focusses on a few years in Dylan’s life, from his arrival in New York City in 1961 to visit an ailing Guthrie in hospital to the moment he “betrayed” his folk roots at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival by plugging in an electric guitar.

Unlike many music biopics (including Mangold’s own fantastic Walk the Line (2005)), this is not a “rags to riches to down and out to resurrection” plotline. That’s not how this part of Dylan’s career arced. He got big and stayed there. We’re just along for the ride.

As soon as Dylan breaks away from the folk covers forced on him by producers in the early days, the hits keep coming. His anthem, Blowin’ in the Wind, “cements” him as a Guthrie-esque prophet – until he refuses to play it anymore and finds the kid’s toy which inspires the opening of Highway ’61. Over time, he builds a band and experiments with his vibe, leading to the “wall of sound” that is Like a Rolling Stone, a lyric from which gives the film its name.

Romantically, Dylan spends this period bouncing between his long-suffering girlfriend Sylvie and folk royalty Joan Baez, with whom he had a fiery love-hate relationship. While both women are drawn to his mystique, it is this very thing that makes him emotionally inaccessible and – frankly – a jerk (something pointed out to him more than once).

However, the central relationship is between Dylan and Pete Seeger, who’s portrayed as a mentor and father figure. Firmly part of the folk establishment, Seeger sees the music as a way to achieve real societal and political change – making himself an enemy of the establishment in the process.

Seeger immediately grasps the weight of Dylan’s gift and is pivotal in getting him recognized. But the relationship sours when Dylan goes off the grid.

The argument is framed as a tussle between tradition and the future. Seeger wants Dylan to use his rock star-like fame and unique talent to bring folk music to the masses in a way never before seen. Dylan, meanwhile… does what he wants. Rather than actively rejecting folk, Dylan rejects being defined as anything, except a musician, in the same way Miles Davis rejected the term “jazz”.

Dylan’s decision to rock Newport is more about him doing his own thing than it is about an artist taking a stand for his music. It brings up Marlon Brando’s iconic line in The Wild One (1953). When asked what he’s rebelling against, he simply growls, “what have you got?”.

Seeger’s disappointment in Dylan is palpable and understandable. Just like the women who love him and the wider folk establishment. They all want to harness “that thing” for their own needs, but he just gets on his bike and rides away – from the folk tradition, from love, from fame. Anything you got.

Throughout, freewheeling poet Dylan has an unlikely ally in the form of hard-living country star Johnny Cash. He’s portrayed here as the devil on Dylan’s shoulder, urging him to track mud on the carpet when the folk world wants him to tread lightly.

Much has been made of Timothée Chalamet in the lead role. He is terrific, capturing Dylan’s taciturn intensity and charisma – as well as just being really cool. He’s a compelling protagonist, with just enough vulnerability to make him sympathetic without compromising Dylan’s underlying arm’s length attachment to the world.

A good example is towards the end when he tries to win back Sylvie after once again passing her over for Baez. We know the smart thing for Sylvie to do is leave – but we’d understand if she stayed.

Even though he’s in practically every scene, this is far from the Chalamet show. The cast is uniformly excellent, especially Edward Norton as good guy Seeger, Boyd Holbrook as hell-raiser Cash, and Monica Barbaro as Baez, who’s both attracted to and threatened by Dylan’s talent.

The fact that they all do their own singing and instrument-playing only adds to the all-round authentic atmosphere. From the moment Dylan arrives in New York, we’re transported into that world. The folk clubs, Dylan’s starving artist apartment, the never-ending Newport party… it’s all vivid and evocative.

Not surprisingly, the music is terrific, although the “greatest hits” whip through of the early Dylan catalogue means some of the scenes are frustratingly short. In particular, an impromptu blues jam that emerges when Dylan wanders onto the set of Seeger’s family-friendly public broadcast show to join last-minute guest Jesse Moffette, who’s swigging liquor and cussing up the air waves. A bit more of Cash wouldn’t have gone amiss, either.

The best sequence comes at the climactic ‘65 Newport festival when Dylan’s musical strengths and personal frailties collide, causing waves and fractures that would last for decades.

By the time the end credits roll, we’re no more enlightened about what drove Dylan than we were at the start. But in some ways, that doesn’t matter. The film allows us to spend time with this enigmatic character at the beginning of a career defined by defying expectations. Trying to put him into any kind of neat narrative box would be like trying to bottle sunlight – a waste of time that would be better served just basking in its glow.

At one point, Dylan mutters that when people ask him where the songs come from, they’re really asking why they didn’t come to them. That’s the whole point. We can’t. Dylan is Dylan. An original. A mystery. A complete unknown. The fact that’s how he likes it is both the film’s strength and – for those looking for a revealing biopic – its weakness.

Writer takeaways

There’s a lot to take from A Complete Unknown from a writer’s POV.

One of the things the film and script highlight is the choices writers must make to draw out and simplify not just the central story but its wider significance. Ensuring the audience understands the context in which events take place can present a challenge and weaken an otherwise strong film.

So, we’ve put together a full analysis on how the writers of A Complete Unknown shaped history into a compelling screen narrative. Find it here.

Go further:

There’s lots of great material out there on Dylan. As well as the film’s credited source book, two documentaries to check out are:

No Direction Home (2005): Martin Scorsese’s lengthy documentary covers a similar period as the film but framed around a concert tour of England in 1966, where Dylan faced the wrath of fans he “betrayed”. It also features later reflections on that time from Dylan, Baez, and others. With lots of archival footage, it’s a great companion piece to the movie, fleshing out the backstory and providing more historical context.

Don’t Look Back (1967): Some of the footage for Scorsese’s documentary was taken from D. A. Pennebaker’s influential film, which follows Dylan on that British tour. The film offers insight into the enigmatic Dylan as he deals with the fallout from his embrace of rock and roll in his own inimitable way.

Take a look at the trailer:

Also watch:

We won’t list all the great music biopics out there. However, here are a few to track down (script sources where available):

Walk the Line (2005): Rather than attempt to mimic Johnny Cash, lead actor Joaquin Phoenix made the “Man in Black” his own in James Mangold’s traditional biopic of the troubled country star, who found love and redemption through his relationship with fellow musician June Carter. Script source: Drew’s Script-o-rama

Miles Ahead (2015): Don Cheadle directs and stars in this innovative biopic, which takes a period in the life of music great Miles Davis and places him into a fictionalized narrative involving a stolen master tape and a hapless journalist. As well as his excellent portrayal of the complicated musician, Cheadle manages to create a film which is both wildly inventive and insightful. Script source: Daily Script

Love & Mercy (2014): One of the best biopics of recent years, this takes an original approach to its subject, Brian Wilson, who found fame with the Beach Boys and created the masterpiece Pet Sounds before succumbing to mental illness. This fracture in Wilson’s character is highlighted through the use of two actors, with Paul Dano portraying him as a younger man and John Cusack as Wilson in later years.

I’m Not There (2007): Why settle for one Dylan when you can have a whole bunch of them? This intriguing film fictionalizes aspects of the artist’s life with a different actor portraying him at different times, capturing his many perceived identities and iterations. The “Dylans” include the late Heath Ledger, Cate Blanchett, and Richard Gere.

You might also want to check out our analysis article, Music Biopics: Imitate/Innovate.