quietest numbers in the entire film, but perhaps the most moving as director Mangold captures the reactions of the three men. This scene had me choked up ten minutes into the movie, an emotion I rarely felt after that.

Seeger is so impressed by Dylan’s talent that he puts him up in his home for a while as he arranges gigs for the new singer at various folk music clubs in New York City. Dylan’s popularity grows, and he gets a recording contract. Unfortunately, his first album mainly covers well-known folk songs and doesn’t do well. Dylan’s fame grows when he gets together professionally and personally with Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro). The two become lovers, a situation that doesn’t sit well with Dylan’s girlfriend, Sylvie Russo (a fictionalized version of Dylan’s actual girlfriend Suze Rotolo, played by Elle Fanning).

After watching A Complete Unknown, I could not make any pat conclusions about Bob Dylan, other than the obvious facts that he was an extremely talented and influential songwriter and musician. Johnny Cash (Boyd Holbrook) was another influence on the singer, and the movie implies Dylan picked up his rebellious personality from Cash. At times, Dylan seems to behave like a spoiled child, doing hurtful things just because he can. However, he’s also profoundly insecure, afraid of his burgeoning fame.

In one of the movie’s best sequences, Dylan meets a fellow musician, Bobby Neuwirth (Will Harrison). After Neuwirth tells Dylan he’s playing a gig at a local nightclub, Dylan decides to hear him play and tries to sit quietly in the back of the bar. Unfortunately, somebody recognizes him, and the bar soon becomes a madhouse, with everyone ignoring the performers to get close to Dylan. A panicked Dylan soon flees after punches are thrown. It’s telling that Dylan makes it up to Neuwirth, hiring the lesser-known musician as his road manager. (This scene is fictional. Dylan actually met and became friends with Neuwirth several years earlier.)

A Complete Unknown ends with Dylan’s 1965 Newport Folk Festival performance. He had altered his performance style in the previous months, going from traditional acoustic folk music to electric instrument-based rock. The film highlights the controversy over how Dylan would perform at the Folk Festival, where he had been a tremendous success the previous year. Again, the movie fictionalizes many of the events, including the audience’s reaction to Dylan’s performance. However, it pretty well sums up the essential mystery of the man. Viewers know what he did, but the “why” of his actions is a mystery in the film and remains a mystery in real life.

I enjoyed A Complete Unknown better for its components than as an artistic whole. Unlike other famous performers who have a central issue to confront (like Tina Turner’s abusive husband in “What’s Love Got to Do with It”), Dylan’s struggles are primarily internal and never resolved (even today). As a result, the movie doesn’t fit into a conventional storyline, heroic or tragic. Instead of dramatic resolution, viewers learn how Dylan affected the audiences who heard his performances. They see Timothée Chalamet sing and perform and witness the audience’s reaction, whether in a New York City nightclub or the Newport stage.

The movie’s closing credits confirm that Chalamet, Norton, Barbaro, and Holbrook performed all of their music in the film. I was struck by the authenticity of the sound and the actors’ mannerisms. A Complete Unknown is an acting showcase that should garner significant Oscar recognition. I was especially moved by Edward Norton, whose performance as Pete Seeger is a complete departure from most of the roles for which he’s noted.

People expecting a definitive look at this stage of Bob Dylan’s career will be disappointed by A Complete Unknown. The movie has few answers and takes many liberties with the truth. (Bob Dylan consulted on the film, so these changes met with his approval.) However, as a close-up look at some excellent acting and singing performances, the movie will appeal to fans of Dylan or the period. In that regard, A Complete Unknown is a complete success.