Timothée Chalamet delivers award-worthy performance in Bob Dylan biopic

If you grew up anything like I did, Bob Dylan was a household name. His albums would be constantly spinning on my dad’s record player, and “Maggie’s Farm” remains stuck in my head, even now.

As I got older, I never sought out to listen to Dylan on my own time. There’s so much other music out there — it’s almost as if his discography had slipped my mind. However, seeing “A Complete Unknown,” the 2024 Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet, reminded me why I loved the musician in the first place, and revitalized my desire to listen to his music again as an adult.

As soon as I heard about the film’s Dec. 25 release, I knew it was something I wanted to see in theaters. However, life got in the way and it wasn’t until my grandma suggested seeing the movie in the middle of January that I finally got to the theater to see it.

And, wow, was I glad I did. It was unlike anything I had ever seen — it was vulnerable, raw, cinematically stunning and Chalamet completely transformed in a way I had never seen before. I’ve seen quite a few Chalamet projects, and this one was, by far, his best performance.

Chalamet became Dylan for the film. The years he spent studying the musician really paid off. He did his own singing for the film, got the Dylan voice spot-on and even learned how to play guitar and harmonica, just for the role.

The dedication alone deserves him an award. He was recently, rightfully so, nominated for an Oscar for his role in the film, and no one deserves it more.

As stunning as Chalamet’s performance in the film was, I expected nothing less from him. He’s a seasoned, talented actor, capable of mastering roles from Laurie in "Little Women" to Willy Wonka himself. Him delivering as Dylan was no surprise. What caught my attention, however, was Monica Barbaro’s performance as Joan Baez.

It was stunning. While I regret to say I wasn’t familiar with Baez’s work prior to seeing the film, she has since become a top artist of mine on Spotify, thanks to Barbaro.

Similar to Chalamet, Barbaro had little to no vocal or guitar experience prior to “A Complete Unknown,” but she learned to sing and play the guitar flawlessly for the role. Barbaro’s performance also earned her an Oscar nomination.

Along with Chalamet and Barbaro, the film is flooded with stars like Edward Norton, Elle Fanning and more. Everyone delivers in their roles — the film was cast perfectly.

When Chalamet puts on his sunglasses, it’s hard to even tell the difference between him and Dylan. There is nothing more magical than seeing an actor completely transform for a role, and Chalamet did just that.

Dylan himself was very involved in the making of this movie, which makes the story being told even more powerful and impactful. He left notes on the script and made requests regarding what he thought was necessary to include in the film.

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The story starts with Dylan meeting Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie in the hospital, and its 140-minute runtime tells the story of him getting famous, going electric and everything that happens in between.

The film features covers of Dylan hits like “Highway 61 Revisited,” “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “I Was Young When I Left Home,” “It Ain’t Me, Babe,” “Maggie’s Farm,” “Like a Rolling Stone” and more, all sung by Chalamet himself. Barbaro covers Baez songs such as “House of the Rising Sun” and “There But For Fortune,” too.

It’s beautiful, cinematically stunning, emotional, raw, vulnerable, heartbreaking and so much more. Everyone gave their all to the film and it shows. The film was nearly two and a half hours of brilliance, and for a movie of such a lengthy runtime, it rarely felt like it dragged.

This film deserves all of the awards out there. It is one of the best films I have seen in a while, and it immediately skyrocketed to the number two spot on my list of 2024 releases ranked, right behind “Wicked.”

Chalamet was born to play Dylan, and his career-defining performance in this film absolutely proves it.

Rating: 8/10

powers40@miamioh.edu