‘A Complete Unknown’ First Reactions: Timothée Chalamet Gives a ‘Tour-de-Force’ Performance in Bob Dylan Biopic

Critics are also praising Chalamet's co-stars Elle Fanning and Monica Barbaro, saying they "anchor the story."

Like a rolling stone, James Mangold‘s Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” has officially entered the Oscar race. Last night at the Zanuck Theater on the Fox Lot in Los Angeles, the film screened for the first time in front of an audience with Mangold, as well as stars Elle Fanning and Monica Barbaro, costume designer Arianne Phillips, and production designer François Audouy all in attendance.

Throughout the screening, the crowd was enlivened by Mangold and team’s carefully crafted recreation of 1960s Greenwich Village, as well as the Newport Folk Festival held in Newport, Rhode Island. Following the screening, critics were quick to share their admiration via social media, highlighting Timothée Chalamet’s performance as Dylan, both acting and singing, as a major standout in this year’s awards race.

IndieWire’s own Anne Thompson offered her thoughts via Threads, writing, “James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown leans heavily on Bob Dylan’s early music and has the power of an origin myth as it lets us rediscover his 60s songbook. Chalamet is convincing as Dylan the prolific writer-singer and the man. He carried his guitar around on other films for 5 years. Elle Fanning is a lovely version of Suze Rotolo; Edward Norton is superb as mentor Pete Seeger.”

Journalist Scott Menzel described Chalamet’s work on X, formerly known as Twitter, as “a tour-de-force where Chalamet is never seen,” while also giving kudos to the supporting turns of Barbaro as Joan Baez and Edward Norton as Pete Seeger.

Despite not being a huge fan of folk music, Gregory Ellwood of The Playlist was also moved by the film saying “A Complete Unknown” is “superb and shockingly moving.”

Wading into the awards conversation, writer and podcast host Kris Tapley shared that he felt Chalamet was a shoo-in for Best Actor and “rarely believed him so much in a performance.”

Variety’s Senior Awards Editor Clayton Davis also expressed appreciation for the performances, saying “For me, it’s Monica Barbaro and Elle Fanning that anchor the story of an illusive, mysterious man that remains in that sphere.” Variety has also updated their Oscar predictions this morning, placing Barbaro squarely in the race for Best Supporting Actress.

Entertainment journalist Scott Mantz added that “A Complete Unknown” serves as a “sister film” to Mangold’s earlier musical biopic of Johnny Cash, “Walk the Line,” which garnered Joaquin Phoenix his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor and earned Reese Witherspoon an Oscar for Best Actress. Funnily enough, Cash plays an integral part in “A Complete Unknown” as well, this time played by Mangold favorite Boyd Holbrook.

“A Complete Unknown” follows Dylan’s early years from 1961 to 1965, as he arrives in New York City from Minnesota hoping to “catch a spark” on the folk music scene that was being revived there at the time. After coming under the mentorship and inspiration of a hospital-confined Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy) and a mission-oriented Pete Seeger (Norton), Dylan is soon caught up in a frenzy of creation, romance, and fame that forces him to reinvent himself once again.

Searchlight Pictures releases “A Complete Unknown” in theaters on December 25.