I saw the new Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, last night and it was much better than I was expecting. I came in skeptical. The story of how a 19-year-old Dylan stumbled into New York City from a small town in Minnesota with just a guitar, and within a short period rose to stardom as a “voice of his generation” before shocking his fans by going electric at the Newport Folk Festival, is one of the more well-documented tales in modern music history. I also came in already annoyed by Timothée Chalamet, as it feels like he is in every single movie released in Hollywood these days. Nevertheless, I have to say I came away having thoroughly enjoyed the movie, including  Chalamet’s performance.

While Dylan obsessives could certainly find bones to pick with various details, from everything I’ve watched and read of him from that period, the film really captured the essence of him during that period. Above all, his staggering genius, as one incredible song after another emerges seemingly out of nowhere (songs an older Dylan once described as being “magically written“). There is a Mozart–Salieri dynamic among the other talented musicians around him as they marvel at how easy the songwriting appears for him. While it isn’t referenced in the movie, several parts of it recall the famous scene in the 1967 documentary Don’t Look Back in which Dylan, at a hotel-room gathering, casually demonstrates his mastery in front of Donovan (another young musician).

The film also captures other aspects of Dylan well — how he could be a jerk to those around him; how much he resented fame and the expectations of his fans; how he rejected being put in any sort of box — whether as a “protest song” writer or as a folk musician.

There will be complaints about various inaccuracies or muddled timelines in the movie. But as a film intended for a mass audience and not the type of people who go through life debating whether Dylan is a prophet, it pretty much nails it. Somebody who went into the theater cold could come away with an understanding of what made Dylan such a big deal and why his decision to go electric was seen as such a betrayal. And it’s still entertaining for those who bring a bit more background.