A Complete Unknown: parents' guide
Best for ages 15 and up. Rated R for language.
A music biopic for older teens and adults about Bob Dylan's early rise in New York and his move to electric rock. The R is for language, with more than 20 f-words by Plugged In's count. Expect near-constant smoking, heavy drinking including a visibly drunk Johnny Cash, and characters smoking joints. Dylan juggles relationships with two women, with sex implied in bed and a woman's breasts partly visible through a thin shirt. Violence is limited to a bar punch, a backstage brawl and a rowdy crowd. Best for about 15 and up, especially for teens who love the music.
What's in it
Violence
ModerateBrief and bloodless: Dylan is punched in a bar, two men brawl backstage when one tries to stop a concert, and a festival crowd nearly riots, throwing things. TV news shows violent footage from the era.
Language
StrongPlugged In counted more than 20 f-words and about 10 s-words, plus 'a--hole,' 'goddamn,' 'damn' and 'hell.' God's and Jesus' names are misused a few times, and there's a middle-finger gesture.
Sex and nudity
ModerateDylan is in bed with different partners, sometimes while seeing someone else, with sex implied under the covers. A woman's breasts are partly visible through a thin T-shirt, and Dylan wanders around in boxers. No sex scene is shown.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
StrongNearly everyone smokes cigarettes nearly all the time. Musicians drink heavily, and Johnny Cash is shown drunk and swigging from a bottle. Plugged In saw characters smoking marijuana joints on a few occasions, though some other guides list no drug use.
Scary or intense scenes
MildLittle that is scary. Woody Guthrie is gravely ill in a hospital, the Cuban Missile Crisis brings fear, and a hostile festival crowd turns loud and angry.
Worth talking about
Dylan refuses to be the voice people want him to be. Ask your teen whether artists owe their fans anything, and what it costs the people close to Dylan when he puts his work first.
On our lists
Similar picks around 15+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, movieguide.org, moviemom.com, the MPA, bbfc.co.uk, Wikipedia. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.