The musician biopic is one of the most bankable yet overdone movie genres there is.

They’re almost always vehicles for an actor showcase shooting for an Oscar nomination, but their reliance on familiar tropes within most rock and pop stars’ lives and the audience being familiar with the subject’s life can often make musician biopics feel lazy and cheap.

Some filmmakers over the years have tried to change the stylistic and narrative norms of the straight-up biopic — Todd Haynes’ own Bob Dylan movie “I’m Not There” comes to mind — or focus on just one or two specific times in their subject — as Bill Pohlad did with his dual Brian Wilson portrait “Love & Mercy.”

For reliably consistent journeyman director James Mangold, rather than an overview of Dylan’s six-decade-plus career in music, “A Complete Unknown” zeroes in on a five-year period in the early ’60s, following the young folk singer/songwriter (portrayed by Timothée Chalamet) on his meteoric rise to stardom as “the voice of a generation” before branching out into an electric sound with a full band rather than just an acoustic guitar and harmonica.

Along the way, Dylan meets his hero Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy), forms a bond with established folk musician Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) and takes inspiration from intimate but destructive relationships with artist girlfriend Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning) and fellow young singer/songwriter Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro).

Playing one of the most famous solo artists of 20th century music is no easy task, but for Chalamet — who in the past year has also played young chocolate maker Willy Wonka and young sci-fi prophet Paul Atreides — stepping into the shoes of a young so-and-so about to change the world is old hat.

Though not exactly doing an impression of Zimmy (nickname of Dylan, real name Robert Zimmerman), Timmy does disappear into the character, evoking Dylan’s mischievous and jerkish ways through his voice and mannerisms and especially his sense of humor. And no, he’s no real-life music prodigy, but Chalamet does play the guitar and sing pretty darn well here.

Now the mid-century setting and pseudo-Western story is familiar territory for Mangold, who previously directed Johnny Cash biopic “Walk the Line,” sports drama “Ford v Ferrari,” superhero Wolverine movie “Logan” and the latest Indiana Jones installment. Each of these has misunderstood, outsider heroes going up against the establishment — sound familiar?

With fleeting looks at U.S. history in the background — JFK, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, etc. — this Dylan biopic is securely grounded in its place and time. Mangold and his crew are excellent at bringing authenticity and believability to this time period rather than just slapping a grainy filter on the camera and calling it a day.

Unfortunately, this film isn’t immune from some of those usual musician biopic cliches. Even though the story only takes place over the course of five years, Dylan goes from a nobody to a kid making some waves in the Greenwich Village clubs to recording his breakthrough album “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” in what feels like a matter of months.

And he doesn’t seem to struggle or fail along the way — he’s automatically writing and singing his greatest songs in scene after scene as if his status was destined to be. Of course, if you’re a fan of Dylan, watching Chalamet recreate these songs and concerts is fun, but it doesn’t make him all that relatable or familiar.

But when Joan Baez wants him to play the old songs or the Newport Folk Festival officials want him to stay acoustic or the record companies want Dylan to play at parties, and he bites back with an off-putting quip as someone difficult to get along with, can you really blame him?

To be fair, that’s kind of the point. Fame has been a double-edged sword for Dylan from the beginning, and as he’s continued to explore different genres and evolve his public persona over the decades since going electric in 1965. We still don’t know the real guy — he’s still a complete unknown.