A Complete Unknown 2024


 

A Complete Unknown

“A good song can only do good.”

"200 people in that room, each one wants me to be someone else…They should just let me be"

"Be what?"

"I don't know... Whenever it is, they don't want me to be."

- A Complete Unknown

A Complete Unknown is a lively examination of the repetitive, and often unfulfilling nature of fame. As its title suggests, A Complete Unknown forgoes the classical biographical structure of the rise and fall. Instead, this film offers us a slightly more eccentric avenue of exploration as we try to see into the mind of Robert Zimmerman or should I say, Bob Dylan.
Being a richly tapestried remembrance of the early 1960s,t his film is made all the more vibrant when you realize that Dylan's music speaks directly into the social and political issues of the era. Dylan’s weight as a musical touchstone of the 1960s is hardly surprising, given how his music is so often recalled as anthems for equality and social change. What is surprising here though, is that this remembrance comes with the added baggage of fame.
Using Bob Dylan's rise to musical prominence as its centerpiece, A Complete Unknown expertly illuminates the dichotomy between the artistic desires of extraordinary talent and the weight of tremendous fame. What happens when your fame starts to lag behind your creative process? You become pigeonholed into an artistic expression that does not fully represent who you are as an artist.
A Complete Unknown offers a fascinating glimpse into one of the most insightful musical prodigies of his age. Director James Mangold and his team delve deeply into the creative process. Revealing how the complexities of fame often obscures who we really are. As a result we become who others want us to be rather than who we know we can be. The film meaningfully depicts what is to be known by all. Though, you are most likely aware that that brand of knowing is not true knowing. So, in that regard, you still remain A Complete Unknown.

Rated R for language

I found A Complete Unknown to be lavishly engaging, insightful and meaningful. I hope in some way you do too.

A Complete Unknown can be streamed on Hulu with a subscription. It is also available physically on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD disc.

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