Call me Erock. I caught a screening of Todd Haynes' Bob Dylan biopic last night. I wont get into details of the plot because at this point everyone knows the fact that six different actors portrait Dylan during different eras of his life, both real and imagined. Quite frankly the movie is a mess, but it is an enjoyable mess. Watching it is like watching the dream of someone who has listened to all of Dylan's songs, watched the various documentaries, and read the biographies all in one sitting. It's simultaneously beautiful, confusing, erratic, and insightful, much like the work of it's subject. The six stories are interwoven throughout one another, each shot in a different filmic style. Certainly the segment which will receive the most attention is Cate Blanchett's, who portrays the mid-60s era Dylan during a drug-fueled and exhausting tour through Europe. Everything that's been hyped about her performance is true. She does a remarkable job nailing Dylan's mannerisms, vocal patterns, and looks eerily like him. This is not to take credit away from any of the other performances because everyone one does a great job. Christian Bale is also dead-on with his take on Dylan, it's just that Blanchett's segment takes up the majority of the film. I wouldn't say that I completely recommend I'm Not There, but I did enjoy it. People looking for a Walk The Line-style biopic will be disappointed. It's an expressionistic portrait based more on legends than fact, but that's one of the things I found so interesting. It meanders a bit too long towards the end and suffers from Return of the King syndrome (having several endings). Hardcore Dylan-philes will enjoy picking through the myriad references, parallels, and symbols. I consider myself a slightly-more-than-casual Dylan fan and picked up on a good number of them, but a lot went over my head. It's certain to leave the general public in the dust.I’ll say a little more about the film as a game to be decoded down below. First up, here’s another review:
Hey Harry, Got a chance to sneak in to a press screening of "I'm Not There" today in Music City, USA. As a casual Bob Dylan fan who's never seen "Don't Look Back" I didn't know what to expect. I had seen Todd Solondz' "Palindromes" (which delves into "same character - different actor" territory) but in this case the players were portraying BOB DYLAN. I must admit I had this movie played out in my head before even having a seat and boy WAS I WRONG! THE OBVIOUS: Cate Blanchett deserves every Oscar ever handed out for her performance. Sublime, subtle and heart-shattering-spot-on. Her scene with David Cross makes him look like a real actor. Christian Bale can sing. Richie Havens can still sing. THE NOT SO OBVIOUS: Bruce Greenwood as Pat Garrett is a revelation. You will not recognize him. The characters are not referred to as "Bob" except for Heath Ledger. This leads the film to become less of a gimmick (different actors playing Bob) and more of a giant step forward into perception, the changes of life and the many faces we all wear. The wash of Dylan tunes (both sung by the man and sung by the actor) are steep and breathtaking. As I watched, I fell in love, fell out of love and then sank into the film. It is as inventive as it is grounded in the everyday faults of humankind. Another surprise: The pieces of the amalgam that is the Bob Dylan character as portrayed by a Welshman, two Australians, a black child, a rumored hamster lover and an Englishman are perfectly relatable, but when you combine the parts (in your mind, the film offers no such luxuries) I watched borders collapse, walls crumble: a character emerged that, while never actually glimpsed, eclipsed the sum of its own parts. We are all these characters. We are all everyman. We are all Bob Dylan. If you use this call me HeywoodYouKnowMeIf you are worried that maybe you don’t know enough about Dylan to enjoy this, I wouldn’t worry. I think it’s a heck of a rich and interesting film even if you don’t know the specific details of this one particular artist. This is a demolition of the biopic, and everyone’s seen enough of those to recognize certain shapes and clichés. But if you do know something about Dylan, then obviously the film plays on a whole different level, and it sounds like the studio wants to level the playing field for viewers at least a little bit, according to this press release...
INSPIRED BY BOB DYLAN’S FAMOUS LINER NOTES, AUDIENCES WILL RECEIVE "I'M NOT THERE: THE OFFICIAL GUIDE TO THE MOVIE" AT PARTICIPATING MOVIE THEATERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY NEW YORK, NY (November 20, 2007) - The Weinstein Company is pleased to announce that participating movie theaters nationwide will distribute liner notes for the highly anticipated film “I’m Not There.” From acclaimed director Todd Haynes, “I’m Not There” is an unconventional journey into the life and times of Bob Dylan. Six actors portray Dylan as a series of shifting personae—from the public to the private to the fantastical—weaving together a rich and colorful portrait of this ever-elusive American icon. The film opens in select theaters across the country on Wednesday, November 21, 2007. The announcement was made today by Gary Faber, executive vice president of marketing for The Weinstein Company. Inspired by Dylan’s famous liner notes for his classic albums, this information will provide audiences with a special introduction to Dylan. The liner notes include carefully selected excerpts of articles that will enhance the audiences’ experience of the man and his music, replicating the experience of listening to one of Dylan's albums or seeing him in concert for the first time. Gary Faber stated, “Preview audiences have enjoyed ‘I’m Not There’ so much that they leave the film eager to learn more about Dylan’s life and art. The articles selected for the notes will help audiences unlock some of the secrets in the film and enable them to enjoy it in a unique and special way.”
