Warning: This article contains spoilers for A Complete Unknown!
A complete stranger explores the life of the enigmatic Bob Dylan in the 1960s, and the musician's true story is as fascinating as the film. While many musicians have had an impact on their genre, Bob Dylan is easily considered one of the most prolific singers of all time, having a long-term effect on both the folk and rock genres. Despite this, he also developed a reputation as an enigma. He is protective of his personal life, typically refuses to explain his lyrics, and has a history of fabricating information about his experiences.
Many films about Bob Dylan have relied on this mysterious image, but A complete stranger attempts to provide a more intimate picture of Dylan's early career, focusing on the musician's loneliness and desperation to escape. However, while leaning into emotional truths, A complete stranger leaves out some of the most interesting elements of Bob Dylan's life. That said, the film opens the door for curious viewers to learn the true story.
A Complete Stranger explores the life of Bob Dylan from 1961 to 1965
Bob Dylan's biopic only looks at the beginning of his career
Although Bob Dylan's career spanned from 1961 to the present day, the Bob Dylan biopic, starring Timothée Chalamet, focuses on the first five years of his career. The film begins with him arriving in New York and ends shortly after the controversial 1965 Newport Folk Festival, where Bob Dylan “went electric.”
Because this is the time period of the film, viewers will be able to see his days in Greenwich Village. The New York area was the center of the American folk revival in the 1960s, which explains why musicians like Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, and Bob Neuwirth appear in the film. However, some influential groups like The Kingston Trio, The Almanac Singers and The Weavers are left out to keep the focus on Bob Dylan. The people who appear in A Complete Unknown had a direct impact on Dylan's life during these years.
Bob Dylan was in a relationship with Suze Rotolo in the 1960s
Suze Rotolo met Bob Dylan for the first time in 1961
Shortly after Bob Dylan arrived in New York City, the 20-year-old musician met 17-year-old Suze Rotolo, and the two quickly fell in love. The two moved into an apartment together in Greenwich Village. While he pursued his music career, she took a job at the Congress for Racial Equality, a position that fit in with her political activism. Throughout their relationship, Rotolo reportedly influenced Dylan's music, and she appeared on his album cover The Free Bob Dylan. The two continued their relationship until early 1964, but the last year of their romance was turbulent due to his fame and his affair with Joan Baez.
Unfortunately, Rotolo lost her identity in the eyes of others, being seen as Bob Dylan's girlfriend, which left her resentful. After their split, Rotolo became famous for keeping tight-lipped about their relationship, maintaining her privacy while building a career as an artist. However, she finally opened up about their romance in her 2008 memoir A Time Off: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties.
Because of the romance, fans may be confused to find out that Bob Dylan has a romance with a character named Sylvie Russo from the cast of A complete stranger. Elle Fanning revealed in an exclusive Q&A during AMC's Dec. 18 early access screening, to which Screen speech was present, which Bob Dylan specifically requested that Rotolo's name be changed in A complete stranger respect her privacy. For this reason, these details about their relationship were taken from Suze Rotolo's memoir.
Bob Dylan also began a romance with Joan Baez after they met in 1961
Joan Baez and Bob Dylan had an affair while he was with Suze Rotolo
In addition to dating Suze Rotolo, Bob Dylan began an affair with folk musician Joan Baez, who received the public nickname “the barefoot Madonna”. Baez already had a successful career when she met Bob Dylan in 1961, and helped boost his career by covering his songs and bringing him on stage during his performances (via Far Out Magazine).
They soon developed a romantic relationship that lasted from 1962 or 1963 until their messy separation in 1965. As the trailer for A complete stranger implies, the Bob Dylan biopic shows the on-and-off affair that occurred during his relationship with Sylvie Russo, aka Suze Rotolo. Over the course of their romance, Dylan and Baez collaborated many times on music, both on and off the stage. The pair famously performed at the March on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. would deliver his famous “I Have A Dream” speech.
However, Bob Dylan suddenly broke up with Joan Baez in 1965 and married another woman named Sara Lownds (née Shirley Marlin Noznisky) soon after. It took Baez more than half a century to forgive him, and she probably wrote the songs “To Bobby,” “Diamonds and Ruse” and “O Brother!” about Bob Dylan (via American composer).
Bob Dylan became a staple of folk music and the Newport Folk Festival in the 1960s
Bob Dylan's Folk Songs Are Still Considered Iconic
Although the American Folk Revival was in full swing in the early 1960s, Bob Dylan became one of the biggest names in American folk music by 1963, the year he released The Free Bob Dylan. He spent his time between 1961 and 1963 building a small fan base, and Joan Baez and Peter, Paul and Mary increased his visibility on the folk scene. By 1965, he had gained a reputation for his beautifully written protest songs. His songs “Blowin' in the Wind,” “The Times They Are A-Changin'” and “A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall” became the foundation of the Civil Rights Movement.
In the decades since [the 1965 Newport Folk Festival]Dylan was interested in blues, rock, gospel, country, pop and jazz.
Bob Dylan also performed at the 1963, 1964 and 1965 Newport Folk Festivals, all three appearing on A complete stranger. He would likely have been invited to the 1961 and 1962 festivals due to his friendship with Pete Seeger, but the event was not held in those two years. Unfortunately, Bob Dylan did not return for the 1966 Newport Folk Festival, probably because of the audience reaction to his 1965 performance with electric instruments – although this is simply speculation. The irony of the reaction is the fact that other folk singers and groups, such as Howlin' Wolf, played electric music before Dylan at the 1965 festival without protest.
Bob Dylan's performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival signaled his shift to rock
Bob Dylan switched from folk to rock before exploring other genres
Although Bob Dylan rose to prominence as a folk singer who wrote political songs, this is only a small fraction of his overall career, which delved into several genres. The 1965 Newport Folk Festival was a pivotal moment for the singer as it marked his first change of genre. Dylan played with electric instruments – a personal insult to folk purists. The audience had mixed reactions, with some booing him while others cheered him. This performance pushed their music into the new genre of folk rock, which combined elements of both genres.
Bob Dylan became one of the biggest names in the genre, often being credited with creating folk-rock alongside the Byrds. However, he never stayed in the same box for long. In the decades since, Dylan has dabbled in blues, rock, gospel, country, pop and jazz. His songs revolutionized composition as a whole and inspired great names like The Beatles and Bruce Springsteen.
Unfortunately, because A complete stranger ends after the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, audiences will not be able to hear any music outside of its folk and early folk-rock tracks. Furthermore, those you listen to will be sung by Timothée Chalamet, who plays Bob Dylan. Fortunately, curious viewers can search for other songs online as they are available on streaming sites.