Dylan freak
Added 1/7/2010
I am and have been a Dylan fan for many years and this was an excellent movie!! Cate Blanchett was amazing!!! All the actors and actresses were. A couple of times I was confused and would have to think back about who the actors or actresses were portraying but still loved the movie - it just made me think. It is one I can watch over and over.
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Scorcese it's not!
Added 1/2/2010
I'll keep this rather brief....
I put off seeing this movie for the last few years because I was afraid it would end up being a pretentious piece of poot that would try so hard to 'explain' or 'contextualize' Dylan that it would only get on my nerves. I was obviously curious to see Kate Blanchett in drag, but that was not enough to overcome my fears. Anyway... having a bit of Christmas money to waste, I picked up a copy of this DVD for ten bucks at a local store, and popped it in one night.
It took me about ten minutes in to begin to smell something familiar about the style of this movie. The changing of Dylan's name from jump reminded me of one of my favorite movies from years ago... 'Velvet Goldmine'. Having the investigative instincts of any long-time watcher of N.C.I.S., I pulled out my copy of that movie and, lo! and behold,it was the same man responsible for both: Todd Haynes! Once that suspicion was confirmed, I sat back and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the movie.
'I'm Not There' is obviously not a bio-pic. If you are looking to find out anything about Dylan's life, get Scorcese's film 'No Direction Home'. [You still won't find out all that much, but at least that movie attempts to dig out some facts.] 'I'm Not There' is more like a Picasso painting than a photograph. To risk sounding like a pretentious wanker myself, it's more like a Rhapsody on an a Theme by Dylan than any attempt to dramatize the actual life of the man. It's more an exploration of his effect on a group of actors and film makers than anything else, and as such, it is highly entertaining and satisfying.
For my money, though, there is one scene in this movie that makes the entire movie worth while, and that is the scene in which Jim James and Calexico perform a poignant version of 'Going To Acapulco' from 'The Basement Tapes'. As an on-again, off-again Dylan fan for over thrity years, I must admit that I wasn't that familiar with the song, but seeing it performed in this movie made me go back and blow the dust off of my copy of that CD. The version of it in this movie has haunted me for over a week, now.
Anyway... I promised brevity...
If you are a Dylan fan, you should enjoy this movie. If you're not, seeing this movie might just give you an idea of what kind of effect his music has had on those of us who are for all these years. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 only because, for my tatses, the scenes with the late Heath Ledger just seemed to disrupt the flow of the film. Making one of Dylan's 'personas' a movie star just seemed more than a bit of a stretch... But who knows? Maybe a few more times through the movie, and I'll 'get the joke'?
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Brilliant. Strange. Hypnotic.
Added 12/24/2009
The remarkable movie that is almost as fascinating as a Dylan song. Dylan fans will have a great time trying to identify the sources from which Todd Haynes got the idea for scenes or characters. He picked actors who looked like the real people.
When I saw this, there was a small audience and some people walked out. But if they had seen Cate Blanchett, they wouldn't have moved. She gave an acting lesson to everyone. Her face simply captured Dylan's mercurial character.
Haynes deserves a lot of credit for avoiding the typical biographical movie and seeking to find an artistic way to match Dylan's mind and work. I think Haynes succeeds admirably.
--Lawrence J. Epstein, author of Political Folk Music in America from Its Origins to Bob Dylan
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He's In There- Somewhere
Added 12/21/2009
If you want Bob Dylan at the beginning, the middle (or middles) and as he moves toward the end of his career this film is for you-if you have decoder ring. After having been introduced to Bob Dylan's music in the early folk revival days of the 1960s, having gone on with him through the folk rock days, moved away during his preacher Bob days and have come back to his music now that he is in his dotage (otherwise known as the endless tour) it is rather nice for someone to be thoughtful enough to do a little cinematic bio of the man who has been hailed as a cultural icon.
And after watching this film is that still true? A bio you say? Of who, you say? Well, I didn't say that it was a standard cookie- cutter bio sketch of the many lives of a performer who has been doing it for over forty years, warts and all. No, this is more in the realm of high camp, low camp, surrealism, name games and just pure whimsy as director Todd Haynes (apparently with Dylan's approval) has set up an allegory of the six main lives of Dylan. And it works. Let's put it this way. If you want a standard bio there are many, many good film documentaries out there (especially from the British) that chronicle one aspect or another of the ups and downs of Dylan's recording career. Here we have a puzzle to solve, Dylan from bright young talent to old time Western codger (played by Richard Gere).
Although I would not really suggest this thing for novices, every aficionado should be viewing this thing more than once. I might add that between covers of his music by the likes of Richie Havens (a fantastic version of "Tombstone Blues" done with one of Dylan's personas) and a sound track filled with his own performances is worth the price of admission. Moreover, Cate Blanchett's performance as Dylan in his turning folk electric period of the mid-1960s is better than... Dylan's. Go figure.
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Amazing movie for Bob Dylan lovers
Added 11/30/2009
This movie does a great job of portraying the different phases of Bob Dylan. It is a tiny bit confusing if you do not know a lot about Dylan or his music. All of the actors do an incredible job, especially Cate Blanchett. This is one of those movies where watching it 2 or 3 times is quite important and I would even venture to say that most people will not like it on the first viewing. I would highly recommend this movie for Dylan fans (just remember that every character they follow is Bob Dylan in a different phase of his life)
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