A Complete Unknown: The Last Biopic

For ten years, movie-buffs have complained about sequels, reboots, and superhero movies, forgetting another IP-centered genre: musical biopics. While James Mangold already succeeded with Walk the Line (2005), today it seems every musician gets a biopic, and audiences are losing interest. A Complete Unknown may be the last musical biopic people truly care about.

Musical biopics have declined this century. Early 2000s films focused on individuals with fascinating personal lives. By the 2010s, the formula shifted to Famous Musician + Big Star = Box Office Success and Awards, as seen in Elvis, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Rocket Man. Earlier films like Walk the Line portrayed people succeeding despite challenges, not facing challenges despite success. With major icons already portrayed, Bob Dylan represents one of the few remaining cultural figures who can attract audiences. With a solid script, competent director, and Timothée Chalamet starring, A Complete Unknown secured the final spot on audiences' watchlist.

The script effectively portrays Dylan's personality and growing fame alongside his notorious attitude. However, the climax—centered on Dylan's decision to play folk or new electric rock songs at Newport Folk Festival—lacks high stakes and sympathetic perspective. It's not surprising that a folk festival would want Dylan to play folk music, making this conflict less dramatic than presented.

OPENING IMAGE

The film opens on a shot of a young Bob Dylan riding in the back of a station wagon with a guitar by his side. The year is 1961. He’s young, naive, and confident. He stares out the window imagining the world ahead of him as he makes a pilgrimage to see someone named Woody. Young audiences may not know who this mysterious character is, but people who experienced the rise of Bob Dylan in real-time know it’s his hero, Woody Guthrie. 

SET UP

When Bob learns that Woody Guthrie has been admitted to a mental hospital in Morris Plains, New Jersey, he immediately makes the voyage across the river to see him. Upon arrival at the depressingly dark institution, he hears a beautiful voice and banjo coming from down the hall. Bob lets himself into one of the rooms to find folk star Pete Seeger serenading a sick Woody Guthrie. Guthrie’s illness has escalated rapidly, leaving him unable to speak and barely able to move. Bob introduces himself as a fan of Guthrie’s and asks to play him a song he wrote. The two men agree, and Bob proceeds to impress them with a beautiful original folk tune. Just like that, Bob’s been discovered.

INCITING INCIDENT

While it can be argued that Bob getting discovered by Pete at the mental institution is the inciting incident, I would argue that it actually occurs a little later in the story. After the events at the mental institution, Pete takes Bob under his wing. He lets him stay with his family and even invites him to a couple of concerts. During a show at Gerde’s Folk City in New York, the audience (and Bob) are introduced to a couple of new key characters: a talented young artist named Joan Baez and her manager, Albert Grossman.

Bob sits back and watches Joan perform in total mesmerization. As confident as he is, he knows she’s just as talented–something music historians know will continue to both infatuate and frustrate Bob for years to come. She gets off the stage and is introduced to Bob. At first, their interaction seems insignificant, but we soon learn it had more of an impact on him than he lets us know. 

Pete gets up on the stage and unexpectedly introduces a friend of his to the stage, Bob Dylan. Of course, Bob goes up there and crushes it, impressing everyone in the building–including Joan’s manager Albert. This moment sets the entire rest of the film in motion. In one scene, Bob’s love for Joan is introduced, he’s introduced to the manager who boosts his career significantly, and his music is shown to have a stronger grasp on audiences than the classic folk style of Pete Seeger.

DEBATE

After his performance at Gerde’s Folk City, we jump forward to the beginning of Bob’s career as a recording artist at Columbia Records. Albert, now Bob’s manager, escorts him to the recording studio while reading aloud an article written about him in The New York Times. In this instance, we are quickly introduced to Bob’s difficult nature and Albert’s tunnel vision of mainstream success. The recording session goes relatively well, except for the fact that the studio only seems to want to record covers and not Bob’s original songs.

Later, during a small performance at a local church, Bob encounters a young woman named Sylvie who compliments his music.

The two hit it off right away. After the church performance they go on all-night date, ranging from the movies to dinner to walks through the village. 

In their short time together, they already have become incredibly intimate and vulnerable, sharing their life goals and views on the world. Sylvie reveals she works for the Congress of Racial Equality helping organize the freedom rides, giving Bob his first his first real exposure to the social justice movement.

Over the following months, more and more of Bob’s difficult nature is revealed. Sylvie, now in a relationship with Bob, slowly discovers that he’s been lying to her about his real name and background. Pete, still clinging to the glory days of classic folk music, discovers how stubborn Bob is when it comes to his music. Regardless of these complications, Bob becomes a more important character in both of their lives. He continues to accompany Pete in visiting Woody and even attends civil rights rallies with Sylvie. These people are helping form Bob Dylan into what we all know him for, but he doesn’t seem to treat any of them with the slightest sense of gratitude.

After Sylvie leaves for a multi-month-long school trip, the United States continues to crumble. Bob finds himself alone in Sylvie’s apartment as the Cuban Missile Crisis occurs, further radicalizing him and giving him time to write. It also provides him with the opportunity to get into more trouble personally. After performing “Masters of War” (an especially political song) at a New York club, Bob gets off the stage to find Joan Baez listening intensely with tears in her eyes. As he strolls by her he stops, grabs her, and passionately kisses her. 

Throughout the script, Bob Dylan is presented as a complicated individual. His decisions are constantly clashing with each other, making it difficult for the audience to figure out what his true intentions are. But at this point in the script, just as his girlfriend leaves and his popularity begins to rise, we discover how selfish he can truly be.

BREAK INTO TWO

Act 2 begins with Bob and Joan waking up at her apartment just as the Cuban Missile Crisis has been resolved. This highlights the dilemma surrounding Bob Dylan’s personality. He wants to somehow be both a completely independent individual and never alone. He pushes Sylvie away, but just as he does so disaster strikes. Then, just as he connects with Joan, the disaster is averted. This theme continues to escalate throughout the remainder of the script.

FUN AND GAMES

As the months go on, Bob’s antics continue with him regularly sleeping with Joan in Sylvie’s apartment. The time isn’t completely wasted though as he also wrote what many consider to be his masterpiece of the decade, “Blowin’ in the Wind”. During a night together, he plays it for Joan. Naturally, she falls in love with the tune and asks to play it live.

Sylvie eventually comes back to town to find that Bob is more off-putting than ever. She’s suspicious that he’s been cheating, but hopefully optimistic in her relationship with the next big thing, she disregards her worries.

The following months are mostly positive. Bob records more hit songs and he and Sylvie happily pose for the famous cover of his 1963 album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (an instant classic). Bob is officially a star.

During a magazine photoshoot, a Joan Baez cover of Bob’s song “Don’t Think Twice” comes on the radio. Sylvie becomes furious at Bob. On the surface, she claims to be angry because Joan’s using Bob’s music to further her own career. However, it becomes evident that Sylvie is really upset because she knows that Joan and Bob have been getting closer. Brokenhearted, she finally admits to Bob (and herself) that she knows he’s been cheating.

The film jumps to Bob’s visit to California for the Monterey Festival, during which he stays at Joan’s house in Carmel. It’s a beautiful estate filled with expensive art and furniture, and it makes Bob realize what luxuries a real star can afford. On top of that, his California trip is where he first encounters Johnny Cash. The two of them, being fans of each other, form a relationship writing letters back and forth as both of their careers progress exponentially.

Back in New York, Bob plays to a sold-out crowd at Carnegie Hall. Pete watches from backstage with a glimmer in his eye; the student has surpassed the master. Everywhere Bob goes now, fans scream his name. 

This intense fame troubles everyone, especially Bob. Pete is unsure whether Bob’s popularity is more beneficial or detrimental to the art of folk music. Sylvie, still trying to hold their relationship together, knows that Bob’s stardom is changing him. And Bob himself is conflicted about the hypocrisy of finding success by singing about other people’s struggles. 

MIDPOINT

The midpoint of the story takes place at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival where Bob reigns as king. He and Johnny Cash are now great friends, he and Sylvie have repaired their relationship despite the rocky moments, and the fans are eating up every single thing he does. For the time being, things seem to be going great (except for his relationship with Joan, but we’ll get to that).

BAD TO WORSE

The story jumps to 6 months later and Bob has completely changed. He’s adopted his infamous frizzy hair, dark sunglasses, and always smoking a cigarette aesthetic. His new style has only made him more popular and it’s led to an upcoming tour alongside Joan Baez–one he isn’t exactly looking forward to. One night he and a new girlfriend, who is neither Joan nor Sylvie, attend a fancy fundraiser in New York thrown by music manager Harold Leventhal. Everyone there, including Albert and Pete, is fighting for Bob’s attention. Harold even reveals that the only reason people are there is because they thought Bob might play some music. Bob has become more spectacle than man.

The weight of prepping for the tour, along with vultures constantly surrounding him, has Bob more stressed than ever. One night, he sneaks away to a bar to hear some live music, just like he used to before all this notoriety. What starts off as a beautiful, peaceful moment quickly turns chaotic as people in the audience recognize him. A mob forms, people get shoved, and Bob gets punched in the face.

In a panic, he runs to the only home he’s ever known–Sylvie’s apartment. He tries to have an intimate, honest moment with her, but a man in her bedroom ruins the mood. She’s finally moved on.

During a recording session at Columbia, Bob plays with a band for the first time. The music is different than anything he’s ever done before, and nobody’s sure what to make of it. Good or bad, Bob Dylan’s new stuff is definitely not folk.

Later, Bob finds himself staying at the Chelsea Hotel. Once again feeling that same loneliness as before, he stumbles down the halls knocking on every door until the right person answers. And finally, she does: Joan Baez. After the two sleep together, Bob abandons the hotel bed to write music, ignoring Joan as he does so. Finally, she snaps.

Their tensions continue to the tour. During a performance in front of thousands of fans, Bob starts berating Joan on stage and publicly refuses to do any of their popular songs. Joan’s pissed, Albert’s lost all control, and Bob throws a tantrum and storms off the stage. That classic bratty attitude that everyone has experienced behind the scenes has finally come to light.

BREAK INTO THREE

The third act begins with Harold, Pete, and all the other Newport Folk Festival planners going through the setlist for the event, making sure to cut any performer who isn’t dedicated to classic folk music. The director of the event, Alan Lomax, seems to be the most ruthless of the bunch. Naturally, someone brings up the fact that Bob Dylan, their supposed headliner, has been solely focusing on electric guitar. This causes a frenzy amongst the team. Pete, being a friend of Bob’s, tells them not to fret and that he will figure it out. According to the universe that this film has built, the sanctity of all folk music depends on this.

FINALE

After an unsuccessful attempt from Pete to talk to Bob, the Newport Festival starts off with some tension. To make matters worse, both Sylvie and Joan are there too. Sylvie’s still got a soft spot for Bob, but Joan doesn’t even want to talk to him. As per the festival lineup, Bob joins Joan onstage during her set for a duet: “It Ain’t Me Babe”. Even though they hate each other at this moment, the audience has no idea (Sylvie being one of them). As Bob and Joan have a seemingly intimate moment onstage in front of thousands of people, Sylvie breaks down and leaves the festival in tears. Bob has broken her once again.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes of the festival, Alan is gearing up to fight Bob on any tricks he may try to pull. Even though Pete did build the Newport Folk Festival, he also built Bob Dylan. His two greatest accomplishments are going head-to-head, and naturally, he’s conflicted. With Pete no longer willing to go to battle with Bob, Harold and Alan take matters into their own hands.

Hearing that Sylvie is about to board the ferry leaving New Jersey, Bob dips out of the festival to try to stop her. Catching her just as she’s about to get on, the two share one last moment together.

Bob’s sudden fame and power became too much for Sylvie to take on, and even though they love each other, their time together has finally come to an end. Sylvie boards the ferry and Bob returns to the festival.

Shortly before Bob’s turn to perform, Pete approaches him one last time. Feeling the pressure from Alan and Harold, Pete caves and pleads with Bob to play his old music. But at this moment, Bob doesn’t have anything but his music. He’s lost Joan, he’s lost Sylvie, and he’s clearly lost Pete. With nobody left to turn to, Bob doesn’t know what to do. That is until he encounters a drunken Johnny Cash in the parking lot…

Just like that, Bob’s mind is made up. He gets up onstage and proceeds to play the loudest, most rebellious electric songs he’s got. The audience becomes enraged, a fight breaks out backstage between Albert and Alan, and Johnny Cash gleefully takes in all the chaos. As the show goes on, the audience slowly starts to shift gears. What started as boos becomes cheers. What’s new is no longer scary. The tide in the music of the 60s has turned.

CLOSING IMAGE

After the show, Bob catches Pete cleaning up and offers him some help. Pete admits that he had actually listened to Bob’s most recent record, and while he didn’t love it, he understood while others did. Just as Bob Dylan said: “the times are changing”, and Pete has finally come to terms with that. As a peace offering, he gifts Bob Woody Guthrie’s harp. 

The two say their goodbyes and Bob rides his motorcycle over to the mental hospital where Woody is staying. There, Bob plays Woody some more of his songs. Despite his inability to move or speak, there’s a glimmer in his eyes. He knows this young man in front of him is the future, but an orderly interrupts their moment and asks Bob to leave. 

The final images of the film then appear on screen. As the orderly helps move the sick Woody to his bed, he stares out the window to watch as Bob mounts his motorcycle and rides off into the night. 

While the old world of music is being put to rest, the music of yet-to-come rides free. No limits, no rules, and no barriers. 

WHY IT’S PRETTY GOOD

This script does an excellent job of realistically depicting Bob Dylan in all of his glory and faults. He’s a difficult individual who consistently puts his music above everything else, sacrificing the well-being of those closest to him to do so. And unfortunately, the culture surrounding music is better because of it. His connection to the old world of folk music was wonderful. Every scene of Bob and Woody spending time together made me especially happy, mostly because they were the only times where Bob showed any real human emotion. His relationships with Joan and Sylvie were devastating, as expected, but written especially well. Their love triangle being presented simultaneously as Bob rose to power did a great job of illustrating the tug-of-war going on in Bob’s mind. On one side of his mind, he thinks he just wants to be a regular guy speaking his truth through music (represented by his relationship with Sylvie, the regular, cute, civil rights activist). On the other side, he thinks he’s the greatest musician of all time and should be acting as such (represented by his relationship with Joan, the larger-than-life superstar folk singer). But rather than ever really deciding to be either one of these people, he constantly tries to be both (“a living contradiction”, to quote Bob himself).

As I mentioned in my introduction, the only issue I have with the script is the third act, especially the climax. While I understand why the moment at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival was pivotal to Bob Dylan’s career and all the music that followed in the 60s, I simply do not care. The writers want the audience to look at characters like Harold, Allen, and Pete and think “Screw these guys, this music is the future, the times are changing!” They want us to be excited at Bob Dylan’s decision to play the electric guitar, but it just doesn’t come across as a big deal whatsoever. On top of that, Bob Dylan and his team are in the wrong! Is it really that crazy for the Newport Folk Festival to request that Bob Dylan play his folk songs? If I was curating a horror film festival and somehow booked Jordan Peele to present a film, I would be pretty pissed if he just played “Key and Peele” sketches the whole time. And I certainly wouldn’t make that event the climax of the Jordan Peele biopic. 

In conclusion, this was still an excellently written biopic. Bob Dylan’s always been a hero of mine, and seeing how the behind-the-scene events helped shift his music and style was amazing to watch. But we’re running out of musicians who are deserving of such treatment, and audiences are starting to get fatigued. That’s why I called A Complete Unknown “The Last Biopic”. While it was positively praised, the attitude towards this film certainly wasn’t overwhelming excitement followed by an intense anticipation of the next great biopic. It was more like “Fine, I’ll check it out, but this is the last one.”