Going into this I wasn’t the biggest Bob Dylan fanatic however I was keen to delve into the life and boundless career forged by the musical giant. During the epic storytelling, formatted through key segments of defining moments of his career and matters of the heart I felt myself form a great appreciation for the poetry and beauty of his life and the courageous and unapologetic way he forged it. The main theme seemed to be ‘independence at any cost.’ when being labeled or put on a pedestal, Dylan had to move the course and break the mold, refusing to be owned by his fans, managers or romantic partners.

What I wasn’t prepared for was Timothy playing all of Dylan’s greatest hits live. As filming had been postponed by covid and the actors strike the actor had over 5 years to learn and perfect the sort of messy and violent but also extremely technically advanced way in which Bob played. This I felt brought an incredible authenticity to the portrayal especially since Timothy embraced the signature crusty long nails and intense yellowing nicotine addiction.

The film made its way through Civil Rights, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and JFK's assassination but throughout all this you never felt like you truly knew the inner workings of Dylan’s mind or even know his real backstory, we are in the dark as much as the people around him. The film instead keeps a relative psychological distance so we can simply observe Dylan moving through the world, seeing him grow as an artist, understanding what makes him so special and simply observing how it might have felt to briefly be in his orbit at one time or another. Dylan felt mysterious, truly 'a complete unknown' an authentic artist who just wanted to make beautiful music and fly under the radar refusing to be moulded by the industry figures around him. A riveting watch that makes you tap your foot and truly appreciate the brilliance and strength that is Bob Dylan.

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