By: Max Jasper

September 14, 2025

As a Minnesotan, you’d think I’d be pretty familiar with Duluth’s own Bob Dylan, but that would actually be incorrect. Before I watched James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown, I only knew a few Dylan songs, and the fact that he’s from Minnesota means a great deal to the Minnesotans I surround myself with.

I feel that this lack of Dylan knowledge made me enjoy A Complete Unknown more than I would have if I were a Dylan superfan. What the film does so effectively is show the audience who Dylan was, not only as an artist but as a person. As a person, Dylan was a mysterious recluse who rarely shared details about his past. As an artist, he was a passionate voice who always strived to do what he wanted rather than what others expected of him.

In my eyes, the most powerful part of A Complete Unknown was the balance between drama and music. In the music biopics I’ve seen over the years, there’s often an imbalance between the two. One tends to outshine the other. But in A Complete Unknown, I felt there was a thoughtful balance between the film’s narrative and its music. Each song performed in the film carried meaning for the story, which speaks volumes about the film’s stellar writing.

Another thing I loved about A Complete Unknown was the performances. Each felt authentic, as if the actors weren’t portraying characters but embodying real people. Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, Boyd Holbrook, and Scoot McNairy were all fantastic.

My main critique of A Complete Unknown is its 2-hour and 21-minute runtime. Certain scenes felt excessively long, which made the film drag at times. I think it could have been stronger if trimmed by 10 to 15 minutes, but that’s just me.

To summarize, James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown is a fantastic biography of Minnesota’s own Bob Dylan. When my brother, my dad, and I were leaving the theater, a gentleman followed us out and told us he once danced with the actual Joan Baez. He said this film would put Minnesota back on the map for the “right reasons.” Seeing his reaction cemented in my mind that A Complete Unknown is a gift to Minnesotans and Dylan fans alike. I believe it will become a cult classic in the years to come.