Much Like Bob Dylan Himself, Timothée Chalamet’s ‘A Complete Unknown’ Is an Acquired Taste

Elle Fanning is lovely and heartbreaking as Dylan’s girlfriend Sylvie Russo (a stand in for Suze Rotolo after Dylan requested the movie not use her real name). And despite Boyd Holbrook’s Johnny Cash having pretty minimal screen time, his presence has an immense impact on the course of the story. Monica Barbaro is as captivating as the real life Joan Baez—I truly could not take my eyes off her whenever she was on screen. And Chalamet defied my expectations to deliver a performance of Dylan that really showcases his, well, Dylan-ness in all its weird glory.

As Chalamet has said in numerous interviews, it wasn’t about doing an exact impression of Dylan, but rather an effort to capture his spirit or essence. And I feel Chalamet does a damn good job living up to such an task, as do Barbaro and Holbrook. As my dad noted after watching just the trailer, it’s abundantly clear that each performer really studied the specific eccentricities of how these musicians hold their guitars, move their hands and move their faces as they sing. And watching the film, you can tell they were performing live on set, an incredibly smart choice that, in my opinion, allows the audience to better connect to the music—which is really what folk music is all about.