Alien at the Movies

In 1961, a 19-year-old Bob Dylan (Timothee Chalamet) arrives in New York City with his guitar to visit his idol Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy) in the hospital. There Dylan meets Pete Seeger (Edward Nortion) who takes Dylan under his wing & introduces Dylan to the likes of Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro), & Johnny Cash (Boyd Holbrook). Dylan also meets his girlfriend Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning). Thus, begins this musical biopic directed by James Mangold. Audiences will see this mysterious minstrel/American troubadour through the lens of the 1960’s when the times they were a-changin’ with social & political unrest. Mangold had his stars all sing their fabulous songs live in front of real audiences & recorded with authentic mikes & equipment of the era to recreate the energy of those magic moments. These actors had amazing performances representing their characters. Especially in the duets, you can feel the connection between the singers & crowd that added that touch of realism. These famous tunes brought me back to those years when I️ had ny ear glued to my transistor radio. I️t was hard not to sing along aloud. See Dylan stick to his guns & do things his way. The look, the sounds, & the acting were all outstanding & brought back many fond memories of those times.

Alien gives it 3½ “like a rolling stone” stars out of 4.