At the recent press screening for A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, the local distributor said to me, “I guess Bob Dylan is your age.” I replied, “Um, no, he’s about 20 years older than me.” Then she recovered by adding, “I meant that you grew up with his music.” I think I was slightly offended but she was right… sort of. I did grow up with his music, though I’d say more his ’70s music than his songs from the ’60s. Certainly, though, I was well aware of his early music having heard cover versions of “Blowin’ in the Wind” by Peter, Paul & Mary, “Mr. Tambourine Man” by the Byrds and “All Along the Watchtower” by Jimi Hendrix countless times on the radio. Even people who didn’t grow up with Bob Dylan’s music will find a lot to like with A COMPLETE UNKNOWN.

The time is January 1961 and America is on the precipice of change. With the Cold War in full swing, John F. Kennedy has just been elected president, bringing hope to millions of young people that their voices will finally be heard. The folk music scene is also changing. Singing-songwriting legend Woody Guthrie is in the hospital, unable to control his muscles. (He had been diagnosed with Huntington’s Disease, though this is not mentioned in the movie.) Folk music’s new king, Pete Seeger (Edward Norton, GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY), is visiting with Guthrie when 20-year-old Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet, WONKA), fresh off the bus from his home in Minnesota, arrives at the hospital guitar in hand. Seeger asks Dylan to play something for them and the older men quickly see the young man’s immense talent. Seeger takes Dylan under his wing, introducing him into the New York folk music scene where Dylan meets Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning, MALEFICENT: MISTRESS OF EVIL), who soon becomes his girlfriend, and Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro, TOP GUN: MAVERICK), who becomes his performing partner on stage. Dylan quickly gains a following and gets a recording contract but it’s Peter, Paul & Mary’s cover version of “Blowin’ in the Wind” in 1963 that catapults him to stardom. America isn’t the only thing changing though. Dylan is too, and in 1965, he eachews his acoustic guitar for an electric one. The move to infuse folk music’s social themes with rock’s music dynamic sounds does not go down well with the folk purists like Seeger, who see Dylan betraying the people who made him famous. The record buying public has a different opinion though.

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN is based on Elijah Wald’s 2015 book “Dylan Goes Electric! Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties”, though I’m sure Baez’s book “And A Voice to Sing With: A Memoir” was also used as reference material. Writer-director James Mangold (FORD v FERRARI) takes a straightforward approach with this story, avoiding any of the artsy fever dream sequences that we’ve seen with other biopics of late. What he does do instead is focus on Dylan’s music and there’s a lot of it, and not just needle drops either. Many of these are full on performances sung and played by the actors themselves. Fortunately, Chalamet, Norton and Barbaro do not disappoint. Chalamet has said in interviews that he had wanted this role for ten years and even taught himself how to play the guitar in the hope that a film about Dylan’s early years would be made and he would get the role. Just the other day, he surprised many people by winning Best Actor at the SAG Awards, putting him solidly back in race against favourite Adrien Brody to take home the equivalent award at the Oscars. This is certainly his best performance to date and he would be very deserving if he wins. The brightest spot with the film though belongs to Barbaro who positively embodies Baez and electrifies (accoustifies?) the screen with her presence. While watching her perform, I closed my eyes a few times and I thought I was listening to the real Baez. Barbaro has been rightfully nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars. Though Zoe Saldaña (EMILIA PÉREZ) seems to be the overwhelming favourite to take this award home, Barbaro’s performance here will certainly catapult her star power in Hollywood.

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN is a totally enjoyable look at this music innovator and poet who is, so far, the only singer-songwriter to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Whether you’re familiar with his music or not, after watching this film you will become a fan.

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN is playing now.

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