A Complete Unknown (2024) A review by Shlomoh Sherman March 29, 2025 Read about A Complete Unknown On the Internet Movie Data Base

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A Complete Unknown [2024] Plot Synopsis: In 1961, an unknown 19-year-old Bob Dylan arrives in New York City with his guitar and forges relationships with musical icons on his meteoric rise, culminating in a groundbreaking performance that reverberates around the world. Director: James Mangold Writers: James MangoldJay, CocksElijah Wald Stars: Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning Nominated for 8 Oscars - 24 wins & 126 nominations total - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11563598/awards/?ref_=tt_ov_at_op_awd Release date: December 25, 2024 (United States) Country of origin: United States Language: English Also known as Going Electric Filming locations: Jersey City, New Jersey, USA Production companies: Searchlight Pictures, The Picture Company, Range Media Partners Box office: Budget: $70,000,000 (estimated) Gross US & Canada: $74,933,807 Opening weekend US & Canada: $11,655,553Dec 29, 2024 Gross worldwide: $134,846,275 Runtime: 2 hours 21 minutes Color: Color Sound mix: Dolby Atmos Motion Picture Rating (MPA) Rated R for language Parents Guide: See below - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11563598/parentalguide/?ref_=tt_stry_pg#certificates

Storyline: "A complete unknown" comes from the lyrics of Dylan's song, LIKE A ROLLING STONE. How does it feel, ah how does it feel To be on your own, with no direction home Like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone? According to Joni VanZandt at https://www.reddit.com/r/bobdylan/comments/v6vayx/whats_the_real_meaning_behind_like_a_rolling_stone/ - , the lyrics tell the story of a woman's fall from grace, mocking her declining fortunes as she becomes a drifter and the memory of her fades. The song is believed by some to be about Edie Sedgwick, a model, actress, and Andy Warhol's one-time girl friend, telling of her fall from grace. Bob Dylan and Edie Sedgwick had a close but difficult relationship, but Dylan has denied any romantic relationship with Sedgwick. Everyone knows this movie is about the life of Robert Zimmerman, who became one of the most influential singer-musicians of the 1960s. Like me, he changed his name for show business reasons, and because he thought that his name Zimmerman was too Jewy. Timothee Chalamet presents a wonderful portrayal of the iconic folk singer of the 1960s. Although as an artist, he was a fantastic performer, as a person, he became an egotist who, as his career blossomed, treated his friends, and ultimately his audience, with contempt. At the 19665 Newport Folk Festival, he disdainfully pissed off the crowd that came to hear and cheer him. Filmmaker Murray Lerner and others present at Newport argued that the boos were from outraged folk fans who disliked Dylan playing an electric guitar. Others present, including musician Al Kooper, disagreed, arguing that the audience was upset by poor sound quality and the short duration of the set.[23] "The reason they booed is that he only played for fifteen minutes when everybody else played for forty-five minutes or an hour," https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Dylan_controversy#:~:text=Filmmaker%20Murray%20Lerner%20and%20others,short%20duration%20of%20the%20set. Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie gave Dylan his start in the music business. In fact, Dylan was a great fan of Woody Guthrie and wrote a song about him. Yet as his persona declined, Dylan began to treat his former patrons with disrespect and disregard. His treatment of his long time girl friend, Sylvie Russo, was so unloving that she finally walked out on him, according to the movie, during the Newport Festival Dylan is to be credited for his affirmation of his gratuitous nastiness and for his approval of the portrayal of that aspect of himself in the film. As to be expected, for those of us who lived through that transformative and revolutionary decade, the music revives the happy, and often, perplexing, memories and emotions. I recommend the film, especially for people of my generation who also lived through the era. As usual, I include in my movie reviews, an excerpt from at least one reviewer on IMDB. Arthur_Tafero They Got It Right - A Complete Unknown - I lived through this era personally. I loved this music as it started, and evolved from 1961 to the present day. I remember strolling through the Village feeling more alive than at any other time of my life. I went to the early shows of Bob Dylan, and thought he was a genius. This film, A Complete Unknown, captures that genius. The writer-director, James Mangold, does a magnificent job of capturing the atmosphere of the 1960s with great authenticity. His inclusion of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Kennedy Assassination mirror the anxiety of the times. The lead actor, Timothee Chalamet, does an outstanding job as Dylan. He is amply supported by a powerhouse cast led by Edward Norton, who, in my opinion, is a shoo-in for Best Supporting Actor. In addition, the intense performance of Monica Barbaro is more than enough to win the Best Supporting Actress award in 2025. The story about Dylan's arrival in the Village in the early 60s was done with great detail and authenticity. His tempestuous relationship with Joan Baez is captured with genuine emotion. The cinematography and set designs are letter-perfect. I believe this film to be the best of 2024. KUDOS TO Timothee Chalamet as Bob Dylan. Seen in Dune and Call Me By Your Name, he may very well win the Oscar for best actor. KUDOS TO Edward Norton as Pete Seeger. This actor has my great respect for his versatility in such films as Primal Fear, American History X, Fight Club, and Asteroid City. KUDOS TO Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo. This beautiful actress, sister of Dakota Fanning, has won my heart since seeing her in Mary Shelley and as Catherine the Great in the TV series THE GREAT [2020 to 2023]. KUDOS TO Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez. I do not recall seeing this actress before, although she has done quite a bit of TV work. She plays Joan Baez, a singer I never cared about during the 1960s.

Trivia: Edward Norton was the first cast member to muster up the courage to reach out to the real Joan Baez for advice, interested in what the real Pete Seeger was like and her friendship with him. He then passed on word to Monica Barbaro that Baez was willing to speak with her. Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Monica Barbaro and Boyd Holbrook did all their own singing in the movie. For his role as folk singer Pete Seeger, Edward Norton played Seeger's actual Martin 12-string acoustic guitar with its distinctive triangular soundhole. Dylan and Baez did not duet on 'It Ain't Me, Babe' at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, as shown in the film, this took place at the 1964 Festival (the performance is on Baez's 'Live At Newport' album). The pair fell out during the May 1965 UK tour, and did not speak for almost 10 years, as documented in Baez's autobiography. In a 2024 interview with Elle Fanning for Interview Magazine, James Mangold spoke about the moment he felt the movie was going to work: "It was when we were in the hospital, the first scene where he sings. I was in tears that night. I was so out of my body going, 'We may actually pull this off. Dylan scholar Paul Murphy attributes the date when the name 'Bob Dylan' was finally chosen, to be in early February 1961. Although the once-Robert Zimmerman had been using his first performing pseudonym, of 'Bob Dillon', for at least a year, visiting the White Horse Bar in New York for a folk session shortly after arriving in the city, he saw the famous picture of Dylan Thomas in there [Thomas had been drinking in the establishment the night before his death], and chose the alternate spelling on the spot "because it read better [with a 'y']." When Dylan plays 'Song To Woody' to Guthrie and says it is a song he wrote about him, this is a realignment of events. The song was originally 'Song To Bonnie' [actress Bonnie Beecher, an early girlfriend of Dylan's], with many of the lyrics the same, whilst the tune itself is Guthrie's own 1945 song, the classic '1913 Massacre'. Many of the songs heard in the film are clearly excerpts from longer songs. However, Dylan's apparently complete public performance of the song "Masters of War" in a Greenwich Village coffee shop actually omits two verses from the song, both with religious references, one of them comparing war leaders to Judas and another with the line "Jesus would never forgive what you do." The woman wearing a bandana at the Newport Folk Festival who greets Pete Seeger as he is looking for Bob is meant to be Maria Muldaur, a folk and blues singer and contemporary and friend of Dylan's. She of course would then come out with the classic tune "Mdnight at the Oasis" about a decade later. With this film and Dune: Part Two (2024), Timothée Chalamet is the first actor to play the lead in multiple Best Picture Academy Award-nominated films in the same year since Brad Pitt in 2011, with Moneyball (2011) and The Tree of Life (2011). Johnny Cash, portrayed in this film by Boyd Holbrook, was the subject of the biopic Walk the Line (2005), also directed by James Mangold. Cash was in his early thirties during the period depicted in A Complete Unknown, while Holbrook was around 43 years during filming. Still, it was never feasible to let Joaquin Phoenix reprise his role from Walk The Line, as he turned 50 in 2024. While in this film Elle Fanning plays Bob Dylan's girlfriend, in The Vanishing of Sidney Hall (2017) she played a fan of his. Goofs: At Newport 1965, stage monitors are visible when Bob and his electric band are performing. But no monitors were actually used at Newport that year, and they did not become common for performing musicians until a few years later. When Sylvie leaves Newport and gets on a ferry, the fence that Bob and she speak through changes depending on the shot. Look at the gaps in between the fence links which increase and contract dramatically. Soundtracks: Dusty Old Dust (So Long It's Been Good to Know Yuh) Written and Performed by Woody Guthrie Courtesy of RCA Records By arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment Oasis Written by Moondog (as Louis T. Hardin) Performed by Moondog Courtesy of Estate of Louis Hardin Death, When You Come to Me Written by Moondog (as Louis T. Hardin) Performed by Moondog Courtesy of Craft Recordings, a Division of Concord Om Jai Mahavir Prabhu Traditional Performed by Sunny Jain The Same Identical Thing Written by Preston McKinnon Performed by The Gillettes Courtesy of Resnik Music Group By arrangement with GraveIpit Music, CAPP Records Inc. & Music Supervisor, Inc. Pallet on the Floor Traditional Performed by Brownie McGhee Courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings Water Is Alright in Tay Written by Seamus McGrath Performed by The Clancy Brothers Courtesy of Columbia Records By arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment Dusty Old Dust (So Love It's Been Good to Know Yuh) Written by Woody Guthrie Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Edward Norton This Land Is Your Land Written by Woody Guthrie Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Edward Norton A Freshman with a Senior Dream Written by Don Canton, Ira Kosloff, and Nick Quesado (as Nick Smith) Performed by Vinnie Monte Courtesy of Essential Media Group LLC By arrangement with Gravelpit Music "Slippin' and Slidin' (Peepin' and Hidin') Written by Eddie Bo (as Edwin Bocage), Albert Collins, Little Richard (as Richard Penniman), and James Smith Performed by Little Richard Courtesy of Craft Recordings, a Division of Concord Song to Woody Written by Bob Dylan Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Timothée Chalamet Wimoweh (Mbube) Written by Ronnie Gilbert, Lee Hays, Fred Hellerman, Solomon Linda, and Pete Seeger Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Edward Norton Girl from the North Country Written by Bob Dylan Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Timothée Chalamet The Bottle Ain't Full No More Written and Performed by Derek Vanderhorst I Was Young When I Left Home Written by Bob Dylan Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Timothée Chalamet House of the Rising Sun Traditional Arranged by Joan Baez Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Monica Barbaro Fixin' to Die Written by Booker T. Washington Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Timothée Chalamet Walk On Written by Brownie McGhee and Ruth McGhee Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Joshua Henry Score from Now, Voyager Written by Max Steiner Courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Over You Written by Bob Dylan Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Timothée Chalamet Blowin' in the Wind Written by Bob Dylan Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Timothée Chalamet Main Title Theme (Billy) Written by Bob Dylan Performed by Calexico Courtesy of Calexico Silver Dagger Traditional Arranged by Joan Baez Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Monica Barbaro Big River Written by Johnny Cash Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Boyd Holbrook Moanin' the Blues Written and Performed by Hank Williams Courtesy of Mercury Nashville Records Under license from Universal Music Enterprises Folsom Prison Blues Written by Johnny Cash Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Boyd Holbrook Masters of War Written by Bob Dylan Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Timothée Chalamet The Times They Are A-Changin' Written by Bob Dylan There But for Fortune Written by Phil Ochs Don't Think Twice, It's All Right Written by Bob Dylan Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Timothée Chalamet Blowin' in the Wind Written by Bob Dylan Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Timothée Chalamet and Monica Barbaro Don't Think Twice, It's All Right Written by Bob Dylan Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Timothée Chalamet and Monica Barbaro The Death of Emmett Till Written by Bob Dylan Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Timothée Chalamet Girl from the North Country Written by Bob Dylan Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Timothée Chalamet and Monica Barbaro I'm Leaving You Written by Kent Harris Performed by The Francettes Courtesy of Ace Records Ltd. By arrangement with Fine Gold Music House of the Rising Sun Traditional Arranged by Bob Dylan Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Timothée Chalamet Only a Pawn in their Game Written by Bob Dylan Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Timothée Chalamet There But for Fortune Written by Phil Ochs Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Monica Barbaro A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall Written by Bob Dylan Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Timothée Chalamet Lonely Woman Written and Performed by Ornette Coleman Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp. By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing That's the Way the World Has Got to Be (II) Written and performed by Chris Ducey Courtesy of Essential Media Group LLC By arrangement with Gravelpit Music The Times They Are A-Changin' Written by Bob Dylan Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Timothée Chalamet La Donna è Mobile From Rigoletto Written by Giuseppe Verdi Performed by Tito Beltrán Courtesy of Silva Screen Records By arrangement with Source/Q Avenue of the Americas (51st Street) Written by Moondog (as Louis T. Hardin) Performed by Moondog Courtesy of Estate of Louis Hardin/Tony Schwartz Collection at the Library of Congress Puff, the Magic Dragon Written by Leonard Lipton and Peter Yarrow Performed by Peter Paul & Mary (as Peter, Paul and Mary) Courtesy of Warner Records By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing When the Ship Comes in Written by Bob Dylan Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Timothée Chalamet and Edward Norton The Irish Rover Traditional Arranged and produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Will Harrison and Nick Baxter Oscalypso Written by Oscar Pettiford Performed by Yusef Lateef Courtesy of The Verve Music Group Under license from Universal Music Enterprises I'll Keep It with Mine Written by Bob Dylan Produced by Nick Baxter Performed by Timothée Chalamet

PARENTS GUIDE FOR A COMPLETE UNKNOWN (2024 Certification: Motion Picture Rating (MPA) Rated R for language throughout. Certifications: Australia MA15+ Brazil 14 Canada 14AAlberta14ABritish Columbia14AOntarioGQuebec Chile 14 France Tous publics Germany 12 Ireland 15A Japan G Netherlands AL New Zealand M Philippines R-13 Portugal M/12 South Korea 15 Spain 12ICAA Switzerland 16 Taiwan 6+ United Kingdom 15 United States Rcertificate #54822 SEX & NUDITY: Mild Sexual references & implied sex with fellow singer. Joan Baez rise out of bed and throw on a thin T-shirt (facing away from the camera). It's clear that she doesn't have any undergarments on as she walks about. VIOLENCE & GORE: Mild A character crashes into two cars. Fist fights with punches to the face and sides. News reports briefly show clashes between black people and the police. PROFANITY: Moderate Fuck and shit are used frequently alongside lesser profanity and obscene gestures. ALCOHOL, DRUGS & SMOKING: Mild Alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use. FRIGHTENING & INTENSE SCENES. None but several scenes depict a severely ill man in hospital, suffering from a condition which leaves him unable to speak or fully control his movements.

A Complete Unknown (2024) Top cast: Timothee Chalamet ... Bob Dylan Edward Norton ... Pete Seeger Elle Fanning ... Sylvie Russo Monica Barbaro ... Joan Baez Joe Tippett ... Dave Van Ronk Eriko Hatsune ... Toshi Seeger Peter Gray Lewis ... Frank (Lawyer) Peter Gerety ... Federal Judge Lenny Grossman ... Federal Court Clerk(as Leonard Grossman) David Wenzel ... Cab Driver Scoot McNairy ... Woody Guthrie Riley Hashimoto ... Danny Seeger Eloise Peyrot ... Tinya Seeger Maya Feldman ... Mika Seeger Dan Fogler ... Albert Grossman Reza Salazar ... Tito (Gerdes Stage Manager) David Alan Basche ... John Hammond James Austin Johnson ... Gerdes M.C.