I'm Not There

I'm Not There (2007) starring Cate Blanchett, Ben Whishaw, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Marcus Carl Franklin, Heath Ledger and Kris Kristofferson.

Before...I was nervous about this movie. Little bit of background now...movie magazines/newspaper reviewers are split into three camps generally, and here I am stereotyping majorly:
- You have the blockbuster lovers. Those who will give good reviews to the big budget movies because they are enjoyable.
- You have the art house lovers. Those who hate blockbusters and give good reviews to the little known films.
- And you have those that give reviews to a good film regardless of whether it is big budget or art house.
Now with I'm Not There the reviews the reviewers were split down the middle. Some people thought it was brilliant. Other people thought it was truly awful. What made me nervous was the fact that there was no blockbuster/arthouse reviewer split. People from all camps had opposing views about the film. Although an intriguing and enchanting idea, I kinda feared the worst, because it was going to be a marmite movie. No-one could just think it was ok.

6 different incarnations of Bob Dylan are presented on screen: an actor, a folk singer, an electric guitarist, the old man, the boy and the poet. The events are drawn from both Dylan's life as well as from his songs. Embedded within are pieces of historical importance that changed Dylans life and it is presented in a very esoteric way.

When I first heard about it, the idea of getting 6 actors (4 men, 1 small black child and a woman) to play the different parts of Bob Dylans life I thought that it would be a disaster. However, Todd Haynes (director of Far from Heaven and Velvet Goldmine) has created a piece of cinematic brilliance. Bob Dylan is a very enigmatic multi-faceted man, and I'm guessing Haynes thought that no-one would be able to play each of those facets unless you got Dylan himself. So turning to 6 different actors is a piece of brilliance on Haynes' part.

The tone of the film is that of a laid back chilled out groove that eases you in and emerses you into the music of Dylan. It glides easily from one actor to another, with perhaps the two stand-out performances coming from what I thought would be the two mistakes in the casting. When I initially saw Guthrie (Franklin) running across the field towards the train I felt a pang of fear. "What has Haynes done? How can he think that a child could portray Dylan?" To say I was wrong would be a massive understatment. Franklin plays Dylan in his early years with such charisma and brilliance that you almost forget he is a child. Franklin's performance is what drew me into this film and I am happy to admit that I was wrong about thinking Haynes had got the casting wrong.

The other stand-out performace is from Blanchett, who plays Dylan in his electric years, the resemblance in both looks and demenour is almost spooky. She plays Dylan's inner conflict perfectly. She draws out his confusion and frustration about being famous as well as the torment of having people criticise him as he pushes forward into playing electric rather than the folk songs that he is so well known for. She thoroughly deserves all of the nominations and awards that she got for this role, as Blanchett is incredible.

The flow of the movie is complex and yet completely fluid. The different stories wrap and fold in and out of each other so deftly and stylishly. Each of the different actors is able to portray different faces of Dylan so well and the style of film-making is adapted around each character in turn.

This film shows how a layered film can work and how the director of a film can create a world that is as significant now as it was in the past. For me in creating a film about an artist who claimed to have changed America, Haynes has created a film that has challenged the way I think about film.

Admittedly if I hadn't been a fan of Dylan's work beforehand it wouldn't have enchanted me in the same way, however from where I am sitting this is film making at it's best.