Bob Dylan biopic is an immaculate portrayal of grumpy singer’s rise to fame – sadly the women are not rounded characters

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN

(TBC) 140mins

★★★★☆

THERE are five words that can make an audience’s blood run cold when watching a beloved singer: “This is a new one.”

But not, it would seem, for Bob Dylan fans. They have long been used to the guitar-playing genius refusing to conform to popular demands and play, well, his biggest hits.

Now, the story behind this intriguing musical mystery has dared to be made, with a gentle insight into his now-famous unconventional style over the first four years of his career.

Opening in 1961, we meet a 19-year-old Dylan (Timothee Chalamet) with guitar in hand, traipsing through the filthy streets of New York having arrived from Minnesota.

Looking pale and weary, he makes his way to a hospital that is the home of political folk singer and songwriter of the then highly controversial This Land Is Your Land — Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy).

By his bedside is fellow folk singer, Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) and Dylan performs one of his songs to them both.

The pair recognise his raw talent and he is soon taken in by Seeger and the folk singing community,

There, Dylan starts playing dingy open mics and church services, where he meets girlfriend Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning) — real name Suze Rotolo, but changed for the film.

She is seen famously clutching Dylan’s arm on the cover of his album, The Freewheelin’.

Sylvie is sharp, political and part of the bohemian scene in New York’s Greenwich Village.

Bob instantly moves into her small apartment, bringing with him some photo albums showing his real name, Robert Zimmerman. The only reference to his life before the move.

At Sylvie’s, Bob wakes up at all hours of the night to scrawl songs on scraps of paper and generally behaves like a moody, bad boyfriend.

One of the reasons for this is his relationship with fellow singer and activist, Joan Baez (Top Gun: Maverick’s Monica Barbaro). The pair soon make beautiful music together, on stage and off.

But Dylan cannot be relied upon emotionally by either of the women. There is only room for one person in his life. And that is Bob Dylan.

Directed by Oscar nominated James Mangold (Walk The Line), it delicately examines the life of a man who is burdened by his own talent. He loathes fame, yet can’t help getting on stage and showing it off to the masses.

He’s a complicated beast and Chalamet does a stunning job of bringing life to a difficult role that he clearly knows will have superfans dissecting every word spoken.

His singing and playing is immaculate, with Dylan’s back catalogue of 40 songs performed with breathtaking imitation. Norton and Barbaro also both stand out.

The sets and style are deliciously detailed with an exquisite, sepia colour palette. You can feel the excitement of a new, vibrant music scene sweeping through the basement clubs of New York, while the rest of the US was under the fear of the Cold War looming.

The sets and style are deliciously detailed with an exquisite, sepia colour palette

JFK was assassinated, Martin Luther King delivered ‘I Have A Dream’ and all this caused creativity to seep from the pores of the young, talented political rebels.

The women, sadly, are not well-written, rounded characters.

I couldn’t fathom why Sylvie adored Bob with such faithful love when no warmth between them was ever shown.

He treated her badly from the beginning and she stands on the sidelines weeping. It feels unlikely for such a strong, ambitious woman.

The film culminates at the famous Newport Folk Festival performance where Bob, loved for his acoustic music, decides to play an entirely new set of songs with electric instruments. Much to the crowd’s dismay.

So after two and a half hours, do you know much more about the elusive rebel that is Bob Dylan? A little.

Yet it’s still enjoyable watching this elusive star remain a complete unknown.

• In cinemas on January 17.