The first time I heard Bob Dylan’s Like a Rolling Stone, it wasn’t from the radio or some classic rock playlist. It was in Richard Donner’s 1995 film Assassins.
That song hit differently.
There was something about Dylan’s voice—that raw, ragged storytelling—that clung to you. And over the years, I kept stumbling across his music in unexpected places, like The Times They Are a-Changin’ setting the mood in Watchmen (2009).
It always felt like Dylan’s songs were lying in wait, ready to be rediscovered. And even though I considered myself a fan, I admit—I was a silent, uneducated, and uninspired one.
A Dusty Biography and a Pandemic Wake-Up Call
Then came the pandemic. One lazy day in Booksale, SM Southmall, I found a worn-out copy of Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan by Howard Sounes.
Shet. Destiny.
This book had been sitting there, gathering dust—waiting for me. I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed it.
And what I got was a deeper glimpse into the man behind the music. His roots. His influences. His chaotic, complicated love life.
So Who the Hell is Sylvie Russo?
Fast forward to A Complete Unknown, the new Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet. I sat down, expecting a nostalgic trip. But something felt… off.
Sylvie Russo, played by Elle Fanning, didn’t ring a bell.
I’d read the biography four years ago. I knew there was no Sylvie. So I pulled the book out. Turns out, she’s a fictionalized version of Suze Rotolo—Dylan’s real-life girlfriend, the one walking beside him on the cover of The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.
Inisip ko, bakit kailangan pa ibahin? Apparently, it was Dylan’s request. Daw. Baka mahal pa niya. Or maybe he just didn’t want to pay royalties.
Sylvie, Suze… and Geno?
Sylvie. Suze. Suze. Sylvie. What’s the confusion here, really?
Pwede namang Gemma.
A 5-Word Review (Because Feelings Are Hard):
Pota ang galing ni Chalamet! That It Ain’t Me Babe duet with Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez? Better than the real-life version.
