Continuing my countdown of last year’s best films…
Best Films of 2024
#5. A Complete Unknown
It occurred to me after the second time I’d watched and loved director James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown that I’d never before seen a biopic about an artist whose work means as much to me as Bob Dylan’s.
Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Elton John, Ray Charles… all legends, no doubt. But none whose music has enraptured me for nearly four decades. None whose albums I dissected as a nerdy high school sophomore, gobbling up every line of poetry, every harmonica note, every nasally vocal.
So I think it was easier for me to see the seams in movies about those other people, or more accurately, harder for me to see the seams in this one.
I’m sure those seams are there. A Complete Unknown probably has a few too many shots of people staring in awe as Dylan performs. It might treat the Wikipedia page as a checklist in a couple of spots, dutifully ticking off key events in his life in the early 60s.
But it does so many things right. Start with the decision to set the film only in those crucial years before Dylan went electric. The best biopics almost always have a tight focus, rather than attempting to tell a cradle-to-grave story.
Then raise a glass to the casting. Timothee Chalamet, our most talented young movie star, is brilliant in this role, disappearing as much as anyone can into such a recognizable figure. Given Dylan’s often parodied delivery, this is a performance that could have been a disaster. Instead, it’s a triumph. Just as good is Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, exuding a no-nonsense soulfulness. Ed Norton and Dakota Fanning head up an excellent supporting cast.
Finally, the most interesting and successful decision Mangold made was to structure the film around a dozen or so music performances. At times this feels more like a concert film than a narrative. And that’s a great thing, especially when Chalamet and Barbaro have so nailed the musical assignment, singing and playing beautifully and authentically, developing their characters and their relationship through song.
To a guy who compiles his favorite movie music moments each year, and responds viscerally to the marriage of songs and film, this movie was catnip. I would eagerly watch a four-hour director’s cut if it added another ten performance scenes.
So maybe I was in the bag for A Complete Unknown before it started. But there were so many ways it could have gone wrong, and instead it exceeded my expectations.
Oh, God said to Abraham, “Kill me a son”
Abe said, “Man, you must be puttin’ me on”
God say, “No.”
Abe say, “What?”
God say, “You can do what you want, Abe, but
The next time you see me comin’ you better run”
Well, Abe said, “Where you want this killin’ done?”
God said, “Out on Highway 61”
[Verse 2]
Well, Georgia Sam, he had a bloody nose
Welfare Department, they wouldn’t give him no clothes
He asked poor Howard, “Where can I go?”
Howard said, “There’s only one place I know”
Sam said, “Tell me quick, man, I got to run”
Oh, Howard just pointed with his gun
And said, “That way, down Highway 61”
[Verse 3]
Well, Mack the Finger said to Louiе the King
“I got forty red, white and bluе shoestrings
And a thousand telephones that don’t ring
Do you know where I can get rid of these things?”
And Louie the King said, “Let me think for a minute, son”
And he said, “Yes, I think it can be easily done!
Just take everything down to Highway 61”
[Verse 4]
Now, the fifth daughter on the twelfth night
Told the first father that things weren’t right
“My complexion,” she says “is much too white”
He said, “Come here and step into the light”
He says, “Hmm you’re right
Let me tell the second mother this has been done”
But the second mother was with the seventh son
And they were both out on Highway 61
[Verse 5]
Now, the rovin’ gambler, he was very bored
Tryin’ to create a next world war
He found a promoter who nearly fell off the floor
He said, “I never engaged in this kind of thing before
But, yes, I think it can be very easily done
We’ll just put some bleachers out in the sun
And have it on Highway 61”
Meet Me In Montauk 
No doubt your love for Bob Dylan elevated this film for you and masked its shortcomings. The movie does indeed succeed in those areas you cited, namely acting and music. Where I found it lacking was in the script and the admittedly intentional decision to not let us in deeper to actually know Dylan by the end of the movie much better than we did at the beginning.
I happen to enjoy biopics and I loved this one. I thought all the characters were just wonderful. Just watched a 60 minute episode about him and this movie. You should try to find it. It’s great.