A Complete Unknown

A Complete Unknown follows Bob Dylan's arrival in New York City at the start of the 1960s, a nineteen-year-old from Minnesota carrying a guitar and an unusual talent. He finds his way into the city's folk scene, where established figures such as Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie recognize what he can do, and he soon lands club bookings and a record deal. As his fame grows, so do his closest relationships, but he grows unwilling to be defined by the folk movement that first embraced him, and a decision he makes on stage at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival provokes a lasting reaction.

James Mangold directed and co-wrote the film with Jay Cocks, marking the thirteenth feature Mangold has directed and his first since Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Timothée Chalamet plays Dylan and also produced, alongside Fred Berger and Alex Heineman, with Edward Norton as Pete Seeger, Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, Scoot McNairy as Woody Guthrie and Dan Fogler as Albert Grossman among a credited cast of 93 and crew of 125.

Released in December 2024, the film runs 141 minutes and was made for 65 million dollars, taking 141 million worldwide. It rates 7.3 on IMDb from 115,000 votes and 7.1 on TMDB from 1,567 votes, while critics gave it 7.4 from 343 reviews.