I approached this film with considerable trepidation. Most Rock bio pics are rubbish and shameless exercises in cashing in on the artist’s fame.

But while most rock and pop stars forge a living out of image and artifice, Dylan has always been an enigma, the polar opposite. He doesn’t care whether you buy his reords or go to his concerts because he is going to do them anyway, You have to be pretty good to get away with that- Dylan is.

Notoriously private, taciturn and opaque, beyond his music we know very little about the man himself. Folk rock trailblazer, motorbike accident, and that is about it. That is a huge advantage for the actor playing Dylan and the film itself, there is no detailed narrative to follow – they can make it up as they go along. Furthermore most of his contemporaneous artists are dead save Joan Baez, who receives  gentle treatment, Ele Fanning artist sylvie Russo

In order for this work, Timothee had to inhabit  Dylan, otherwise it would have been  a documentary. Fortunately he is up to the task. The production is surprisingly big budget  with the period sets lavish and the recreation of the Newport Folk festival convincing. Crucially the music is faithfully reproduced too

Mania Barbaro  is superb as Joan Baez,  and Johnny Cash  as an artist receives a cameo too. Edward Norton gives an historically vital portrayal of Pete Seeger.Tom Mangold and Jay Cock share the writing credits and do a formidable job. Cocks screenwriting credentials are impeccable As a screenwriter, he is notable for his collaborations with director Martin Scorsese, particularly The Age of Innocence and Gangs of New York.The is also a writer for Rolling Stone bible of American Music. Cocks is everywhere here. Not only has he fashioned a compelling narrative, but it is backed up by some great reproductions of Dylans music too.