I'm Not There Is Interesting

I'm Not There is a movie written and directed by Todd Haynes.  He tries to capture the essence of Bob Dylan.  This is no easy task, so the movie casts six different characters to portray the epic songwriter.   Each character's story is separate from the others but somehow intertwined.  The individual stories embody a specific set or aspect of Dylan's mythical and complex existence.  The entire experience is mind-bending, intellectual, hysterical and most of all entertaining.

I don't claim to be an expert on Bob Dylan.  I can barely sing all the words to Hurricane.  This did not reduce my experience. However, an extended knowledge in Dylan will probably help a viewer notice certain anecdotes.  Dylan's music entangles the entire script. I found myself tapping my foot more often than not.  The title is actually a wildly popular bootleg that wasn't officially released until the movie's soundtrack.  The cinematographer, Ed Lachman, should be commended for excellent attention to detail and engrossing shots.   The story of each character is presented in mini-clips that play like scenes from a movie.  Other parts of the film are conducted as faux interviews of fictional people.  The hodge podge of clips sounds confusing, but it works. 

The performances of the Dylan characters will not be forgotten.  At first blush, this list seems strange: Christian Bale as Jack Rollins/Pastor John, Cate Blanchett as Jude Quinn, Heath Ledger as Robbie Clark, Marcus Carl Franklin as "Woody Guthrie", Richard Gere as Billy the Kid and Ben Whishaw as "Arthur Rimbaud."   Quite intentionally, Bob Dylan's name is never mentioned.  In my mind, the best performance was given by Cate Blanchett.  She captures the androgynous and peculiar  existence of  Dylan presumably in the late 1960s.  I had to convince myself that she was using her real voice.   Christian Bale's performance compliments Cate Blanchett's by depicting Dylan in the beginning of his career.  While he wasn't as engrossing, his acting helped build the overall portrayal of Dylan.  Blanchett and Bale created the aura felt by those who were close to and far away from Dylan.  I feel, the almost inhuman part of Dylan.  Heath Ledger's character gives the audience the humanside of Dylan with real mistakes and consequences of those actions.  A nice balance is created.  The final three characters allude to more mythical qualities.  I feel, these characters try to encapsulate the thoughts and aspirations of Dylan.  He is anything but uncomplicated, but is that statement really true? 

The film leaves you in a trance.  At its conclusion, most of the theater goers remained seated.  Was it the storytelling that made us stay?  The music?  The performances?  The want for more?  Yes.  It takes time to digest the story as a whole.  Maybe we just weren't ready to stop thinking.  Whatever the allure, it stuck with me up until now and probably will remain for quite sometime.  Besides entertaining, I believe the goal of the movie is to encapsulate Dylan as a imperial part of history.  He is larger than life.  More complex than you or me.  But then again, is he really?  Maybe he just told it like it was.  He didn't have any special understanding or insight into each of the generations he affects.  One thing is for sure, he wrote and still writes excellent music that is consumed by millions.  People will always adore those types of characters.

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