A Complete Unknown, a biopic of Bob Dylan, should be at the top of everyone’s must-watch list. From the moment the movie opens with the song “Dusty Old Dust” by Woody Guthrie, until the final scene where Dylan, played by Timothee Chalamet, rides away on his motorcycle, the movie provides an insightful and interesting story about the life of one of the best folk musicians of all time.

Directed by James Mangold, the movie takes place over the course of four years, in which Dylan becomes the world’s most famous folk artist. The film follows Dylan’s early years when he arrives in New York and quickly meets his hero, Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy), who is accompanied by fellow folk artist, Pete Seeger. From then on, Dylan became a local hit through the help of Seeger. The movie culminates with the famous 1965 Newport Folk Festival, where Dylan goes against everyone’s wishes (everyone – from his record company to all his fans) by debuting his shift in artistic direction from folk to rock. At this part of the story, we get a deep dive into why Dylan decided to shift his career.

The acting is one of the many reasons the movie is exceptional, all of the actors played their parts perfectly. Although the movie was delayed for 5 years due to COVID, that didn’t stop the actors from fitting into their roles, and instead, worked in their favor. Chalamet was able to teach himself to sing, and play guitar, as well as gain weight so that he would be able to portray his character perfectly. Chalamet wasn’t a fan of Dylan before the movie though, so to be able to learn as much as he did in that five-year window, is impressive. By the time the movie was ready to start being filmed, Chalamet was able to perform songs such as “The Times They Are A-Changin” and “Blowin’ In the Wind” with great talent. But he wasn’t the only one who really fit his role. Similarly to Chalamet, Monica Barbaro took the time to teach herself to sing in the role of Joan Baez, which resulted in her voice being almost identical, as seen in her version of “House of the Rising Sun”. So when Chalamet and Barbaro hopped on that stage together, they put on a performance that sent chills around the room. The acting and commitment to the characters not only allowed the movie to be a hit but also sparked a great career shift for Chalamet as well: he placed top 10 in ScreenRant’s actors of the year.

But the acting isn’t the only thing that pulls us into this world of Dylan; the music will have you on the edge of your seat. The soundtrack has gotten wildly popular on social media, especially with its main hit “It Ain’t Me Babe” which was sung by both Chalamet and Barbaro at the first Newport Folk Festival. It makes sense that these songs have been well-liked! Coming from someone who hadn’t previously listened to much Dylan music, the second I got back from the movie, I made a playlist consisting of every song in the soundtrack as well as their originals. There is almost no moment in this movie where there isn’t a song playing, whether it’s just in the background or it’s Chalamet and Barbaro singing their hearts out in Newport.

Although the majority of this movie was exceptional, there were some false and misleading scenes… the movie needs a fact-check. The idea that there is false information about Dylan’s life has caused many of his fans to not want to watch the movie. They don’t want their opinions and views on Dylan to be affected by the misleading scenes. Not only this, but the movie doesn’t actually explore Dylan deeply, it revolves around presentation. It portrays his problems around small struggles like being overwhelmed with fame or his record company wanting him to play a little extra on tour. Instead, in real life, Dylan had much bigger problems, like crazy people breaking into his hotel rooms or the tough process of songwriting. On the contrary, false information is just a small part of this movie, and overall it shouldn’t be something that affects people’s view on it.

Lastly, the cinematography in the movie is great. It aims to capture the gritty and well lived-in Greenwich village that the movie begins with by using a dark focus and a dusty palette. The scene is expressed well by placing a man on the side of the street playing a tambourine, and Dylan walking down the dimly-lit road holding his guitar case, allowing for the opening scene to really set the feel for the whole movie. The filming is also used to capture a sort of emotion that is created throughout the story. Dylan becomes overwhelmed with fame, as well as feeling like people want him to be who he isn’t. The use of imagery in these scenes, such as women trying to grab his arms or stop his car, or people booing him in the audience, allow watchers to get a sense of the deeper meaning of the movie: going against the grain and staying true to yourself. Overall, the cinematography used is exceptional.

The amount of effort put into A Complete Unknown by the actors, as well as the great music, interesting storyline, and creative visuals really makes this biopic one of a kind. Whether you were a fan of Dylan before or never even listened to him in your life, this is a movie for everyone.