I'm Not There
Rated: R
Runtime: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Directed by: Todd Haynes
Starring:
Christian Bale - Bob Dylan / Jack
Cate Blanchett - Bob Dylan / Jude
Marcus Carl Franklin - Bob Dylan / Woody Guthrie
Richard Gere - Bob Dylan / Billy
Heath Ledger - Bob Dylan / Robbie
Ben Whishaw - Bob Dylan / Arthur
Music biopics must honor their legendary subjects. They can't simply be shitty childhood + pioneering music + drug addiction + redemption + soundtrack of greatest hits = movie. You can tell that kind of story about far less talented and far less worthy musicians (and VH1 has!). To find what makes these musicians and their work legendary and unforgettable, you have to dig deeper, go beyond the obvious, and try to translate their soul to film just as they’ve translated their souls into music. Todd Haynes figured out how to do this with his biopic of Bob Dylan and as a result, I'm Not There is not only one of the best pictures of the year, but the best biopic since 2003's American Splendor.
I don't know Dylan's life and perhaps if I did, I'd come away with a completely different perspective about this film. My knowledge of Dylan extends as far as "I love his music and I know Bob Dylan isn't his real name," But I'm Not There isn't trying to be an episode of Behind the Music with esteemed actors and no commercials. What it's trying to do is mold a character out of liquid. Dylan's personality, origin, and music can't be contained and constantly slips through the artist's fingers. The result is letting the viewer feel the cool slide of the material as it falls through their grasp and then a mixture of sadness and reverence at not being able to capture this unique solution of a man with no solution.
Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Ben Whishaw are all Bob Dylan and none of them are Bob Dylan (contrary to what the promotional material for the film may tell you). No one in the film is named Bob Dylan, no matter how recognizable or unrecognizable that character may be in their particular setting. Each character may represent an aspect of Dylan but those aspects are up for interpretation. Who's the iconoclast? Who's the origin? Who's the storyteller? Who's the star? Some may want the real Bob Dylan to please stand up but these are people who are most likely satisfied with the lazy and thoughtless biopics of Johnny Cash and Ray Charles.
While all the performances are great (Blanchett being the favorite not only because she's a woman playing a man, but because she has to play Dylan at arguably his most controversial and most vulnerable), the real surprise is writer/director Todd Haynes. Haynes' previous work of Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, Velvet Goldmine, and Far From Heaven all gave me the impression that the man was unable to tell a honest story and I'm Not There does nothing to change that opinion. But whereas before his approach felt either gimmicky or a sign of insecurity, here he perfectly suits the subject because this biopic of Dylan isn't a matter of honesty but a matter of fractured, indefinable identity. There is no singular truth to Dylan so Haynes sidesteps his signature flaw and delivers a brilliant movie that eschews all the trappings of the genre. He doesn't even use Dylan's music as a crutch as he digs through the artist's vast catalog of music to find the right song for each scene, no matter how obscure that particular piece may be. Dylan's music is the honest through-line of the film. Hold on to it tightly and then try to catch I'm Not There.
Words by
Matt Goldberg
11.11.07
 |
 |
 |
 |