The movie tells the story of the fake Bob Dylan (I can call him that because I’m a real Dylan Bob; he just took it as a stage name; I’m the 100% authentic and genuine article lol) and his rise to fame and the controversy he caused by using an electric guitar at a folk festival.
The movie focuses on a specific time in Dylan's life, which makes for a more cohesive film. Unfortunately for me, they focus more on why he’s considered so revolutionary and a cultural phenomenon than focusing on explaining why he is the way he is. I mean, I’m not saying every bio should be a character study (part of his appeal is he’s such an aloof and mysterious guy), but it would’ve been nice to know a little bit more about him so I could sympathize with him more. Like I appreciated the filmmakers showed Bob Dylan to be three-dimensional; you can like him; he could be shown to be shy or straight-out an asshole (by that third act, you kinda want to give a slap upside the head) but they never dive into his character deep enough to really get to know him or sympathize with him in a way you’d find him more sympathetic.
Timothée Chalamet gave a stellar performance. He had Bob Dylan‘s mannerisms and way of speaking down, but he wasn’t doing just a straight impression; he made the character his own and made this big iconic figure feel more down to earth and completely nailed the role.
Edward Norton was really great. He felt like a very down-to-earth, creative, and likable high school creative arts teacher who wants to support and kindle people’s love of the arts. I hope he gets a lot of acclaim for the role.
Elle Fanning plays Dylan’s girlfriend. The writing for her character is a little underwritten; she spends a lot of the movie reacting and listening to what Bob Dylan is doing, but the actress brings something to the performance with her acting that I found very engaging.
I did not know a lot about Joan Baez before this movie, but she has a really interesting history and relationship with Bob Dylan that was very interesting to watch…. I wish they had gone into it more because it felt a bit too surface level to me. It would be cool to see a movie based on her life, kind of like they did with the Elvis movie and the Priscilla movie.
So I’m not a big expert about that time period when it comes to folk music, and the movie doesn’t really help people who don’t know; you can tell they’re playing it to people who already have a knowledge of Bob Dylan and the early 60’s. Like early on, Bob Dylan gets to meet one of his heroes, Woody Guthrie, and the movie plays it like, “Oh my God, he’s meeting his legendary figure, and I’m like… Who?
Dan Fogle was a nice surprise; he plays a record executive who normally would be played as a money-obsessed obstacle who tries to stiffen Bob’s stranger creative choices, but he’s actually pretty supportive and funny, which was a nice surprise.
Boyd Holbrook may not be the most “Johnny Cash” looking guy out there, and he plays the role a little more comedic and broad, but he’s very enjoyable and fun.
This isn’t the most original musical biopic out there; it sticks to the “bio-film” formula more than it doesn’t, but it does it very well and shows why the clichés work so well and are so liked.
I wasn’t alive from 1961-1965 (neither were my parents), but from what I could see at the time, the movie captures the feel and look down to the tiny detail.
This movie has a lot of great music. Like, I am hardly a folk music fan, but I give it up that there were a lot of great songs that I was tapping my foot to.
So I really like the first act when we see him as like that fresh eyed, but he tailed kid and his rise to fame… Then in the second act to see him when he’s at the height of his fame, and he where is all black and is all introverted and prickly and they don’t really give a good explanation for why he’s so prickly. They kind of hint maybe he’s just not a big fan of all the attention he’s getting but they don’t really go into it and it just comes off like he’s a bit of a drama queen.
Also, Bob and Joan Baez relationship hit some rocks and they never really give a good explanation about why it became so rocky or wrap it up in a completely satisfying way they do a little bit, but it’s not enough.
And then the third act Feels like the drama was embellished a bit so the film could have a third act climax. I mean, it never goes into the realm of unbelievable but the way the other two acts were going the fact that this is the big climax did feel a little bit smaller in comparison… Not bad but just need a little more “oomph” to really bring it home.
You can tell James Mangold and Timothy Chalamet have a lot of love and respect for Bob Dylan, and that gleeful positive energy can really be felt throughout the film and makes it very enjoyable.
My favorite part was getting to see this movie with my mom, auntie, and uncle Donald. It’s fun enjoying films with loved ones.
So this film definitely has its issues with its pacing and characters needing more depth… but the passion everyone has for the project, the craftsmanship by the filmmakers, and the great music makes it super entertaining that you’ll have a good time watching it. I give it low four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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