On Christmas day, while some people were at home listening to the sounds of Christmas carols, others were in the cinema listening to the folk sounds of Bob Dylan. “A Complete Unknown” is directed by James Mangold and stars Timothée Chalamet, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, Edward Norton and Boyd Holbrook.

The film follows a young Bob Dylan (Chalamet) and the path his early career follows. It begins at his arrival in New York City and ends with him going electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.

While “A Complete Unknown” is based on the 2015 book “Dylan Goes Electric” by Elijah Wald, the film is not entirely true to Dylan’s life. Mangold said he met with him to approve the script and Dylan ended up making small changes such as adding one scene into the film that never happened. This continues Dylan’s tradition of skewing his past much like the audience sees in the film

The standout performance of the film is clearly Chalamet. He captures Dylan’s mannerism and way of talking in a way that immerses the audience into his past and makes them forget they’re watching an acting performance and not Dylan himself. Chalamet also proves his acting abilities in how he portrays Dylan’s change as a musician, but also a person through the film.

What’s most impressive about Chalamet’s performance is the work he put into becoming Dylan, five years to be exact. He worked with vocal coach Eric Veto on nailing down Dylan’s signature grating voice. Chalamet and the rest of the cast would also play songs live and insisted that they didn’t record the voices, guitar, and harmonica separately so everything would feel in the moment.

Starring alongside him is Fanning as Sylvie Russo who brings the emotional heart to the film. Playing Dylan’s first girlfriend, Russo’s innocence makes the audience feel for her situation and Fanning captures it with grace. The mere look Russo gives Dylan whenever he crosses the line with her makes your heart crack.

Another stand out role is Barbaro as Joan Baez, another singer in the folk scene during the 60s who had a tumultuous relationship with Dylan. Before taking on the role of Baez, Barbaro had never played the guitar or sang before. By the end of her training, she was able to capture Baez’s recognizable silky voice and play live alongside Chalamet.

The 60’s time period is elevated through the work of costume designer Arianna Phillips who was able to recreate the fashion of all the real people in the film from Pete Seeger to Johnny Cash. Some of the costumes were vintage from the time period, but a large chunk was either made with vintage fabrics or recreated items that each person wore. Some of these pieces include Dylan’s polka dot shirt, Russos’s farewell dress, and Baez’s orange vinyl coat.

The time period is also achieved through the production design work of Francois Audouy. He was able to transform the streets of 2020’s New York City into something straight out of the time of Dylan in the 60s. They were able to recreate places on MacDougal Street such as Cafe Wha?, Don and Elsie’s Music Box, and Minetta Tavern.

Even though the film has stellar performances matched with period-accurate settings and costumes, Mangold isn’t able to pull his weight as the director. His vision was clear, but Mangold wasn’t able to make the film stand out from the crowd of other biopics, it’s the cast that does. The curse of the biopic could be to blame, but the other creatives involved in the film prove that you can pull your own weight to make something special out of someone’s story.

With a cast stacked with stars, “A Complete Unknown” was sure to be in talks during awards season. Currently, Chalamet has been nominated for various large awards including SAG, BAFTA, Critics Choice, and Oscar. If Chalamet wins the Academy Award, he would become the youngest person ever to win Best Actor at the Oscars.

Amongst the rest of the cast, Norton has been nominated for many large awards as well for his role as Seeger including an Oscar and Barbaro as Baez has been nominated at the SAG awards and Oscars. This doesn’t even include the countless nominations that the crew has received for this film.

“A Complete Unknown” lets audiences relive the rise of Bob Dylan in the folk scene during the 60’s with live recorded music and period-accurate settings. So make sure to head down Highway 61 to see “A Complete Unknown.”