A Complete Unknown (2024)

We aren't Bob Dylan fans so I wasn't really looking forward to this. Compounding my indifference was the memory of the 2007 Dylan movie I'm Not There. You know, I could also complain about the fact that it was hard to decipher quite a bit of Dylan's mumbly dialogue -- another reason I'm so much more comfortable watching movies subtitled & pausable in my own living room -- but I'll instead focus on the brilliance of the story itself. 

We meet Dylan as he's searching for the convalescing Woody Guthrie, one of his inspirations. Pete Seeger happens to be visiting Woody when Dylan finally tracks him down and, since he's no dummy, gets him onstage. Though it takes little time for his star to rise, it's clear that Dylan isn't cut out for the kind of rabid fandom his music inspires and he struggles with the expectation to keep delivering the same thing over and over.

This covers a lot of ground and does so with finesse. Chalamet shows both steel and sensitivity in the role, meaning that I was never anywhere but firmly in his corner. Actually, let me amend my first statement: We weren't Bob Dylan fans.

B+