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I'm Not There [2007] (REGION 1) (NTSC) DVD ~ Christian Bale

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Amazon.co.uk Review
Unapologetically audacious, I'm Not There is more post-modern puzzle than by-the-numbers biopic. A title card sets the scene: "Inspired by the music and many lives of Bob Dylan." Yet the film features no figure by that name. Instead, writer/director Todd Haynes presents six characters, each incarnating different stages in the artist's career. Perfume's Ben Whishaw, a black-clad poet, serves as a slippery sort of narrator. The action begins with the wanderings of an 11-year-old black runaway named "Woody Guthrie" (Marcus Carl Franklin)--his raucous duet with Richie Havens on "Tombstone Blues" is a highlight--and ends with a silver-haired Billy the Kid (Richard Gere) watching the Old West die before his eyes. In the interim, there's the folk singer-turned-preacher (Christian Bale), the actor (Heath Ledger), and the rock star (Cate Blanchett, who has Don't Look Back Dylan down to a science). The chronology is purposefully non-linear, and editor Jay ! Rabinowitz cuts rapidly, Jean-Luc Godard-style, between cinéma vérité black-and-white and saturated colour, Richard Lester-like slapstick and Fellini-inspired surrealism (Ed Lachman served as cinematographer).

What makes the picture fun for Dylan fans--and potentially frustrating for neophytes--is that every album and movie bears an alternate title. Ledger's Robbie, for instance, stars in "Grain of Sand," actually a reference to the Pete Seeger song. As in Haynes' glam rock reverie Velvet Goldmine, the trickery involves the entire cast. While Julianne Moore plays former lover Alice, a dead ringer for Joan Baez, Michelle Williams embodies elusive scenester Coco, i.e. Edie Sedgwick. If I'm Not There is less affecting than Control, the year's other big music film, it rewards repeat viewings like few biographical features. The soundtrack mixes originals with covers, like Jim James's heartfelt "Goin' to Acapulco." --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Synopsis
Todd Haynes (VELVET GOLDMINE, FAR FROM HEAVEN) delivers this dazzling, experimental take on the life of popular music's most revered and enigmatic artist: Bob Dylan. In keeping with the impossible-to-pin-down nature of Dylan himself, Haynes chose to cast six different actors to portray several incarnations of the groundbreaking troubadour. The result is a challenging, sprawling work that spans several decades and genres. Woody (Marcus Carl Franklin) is a young black child with a folk music obsession; Jack Rollins (Christian Bale) is an upstart folksinger whose protest songs have ignited an entire generation; Arthur (Ben Wishaw) is a Rimbaud-esque figure who has begun to embrace a new form of lyrical poetry; Robbie (Heath Ledger) is a well-known actor whose marriage to the lovely Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) crumbles under the weight of his lifestyle; Billy (Richard Gere) is a slippery frontiersman who echoes Dylan's infatuation with the Old West and American folklore; and, finally, there is the substance-abusing, confrontational Jude (Cate Blanchett), who represents Dylan in the turbulent mid-1960s.


Much in the same way that Dylan appropriated a vast array of musical styles to create his own vernacular, Haynes does the same thing with I'M NOT THERE, using his expansive knowledge of movie history to pay homage to a variety of movements and genres (Godard, Fellini, Lester, etc.). The typically extraordinary cinematographer Edward Lachman outdoes even himself this time around, incorporating so many different visual styles that it's impossible to decide which is the most beautiful. While the cast all fare well in their roles, it is Cate Blanchett who runs away with the picture, proving once again that she is one of the finest actors the movies have ever seen.

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8 Reviews 5 star:  (1) 4 star:  (3) 3 star:  (2) 2 star:  (1) 1 star:  (1)           Average Customer Review (8 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   11 of 11 people found the following review helpful: the six degrees of Dylan, 19 Mar 2008 By  B. "go on, take my advice - you know you want... - See all my reviews Todd Haynes showcases the music, myth and legend of Bob Dylan for all to see. In I'm Not There, Dylan is portrayed in stages (mirroring his rise to fame)by a bevy of talented actors. Playing the skinny, androgynous Dylan in his early years, Cate Blanchett shines. She has every twitch, every disdainful look, every sarcastic comment down pat. There's also Marcus Carl Franklin as a young, black Dylan struggling to emulate his idol, Woody Guthrie. Then there's British actor Ben Whishaw, paying tribute to Dylan's admiration of Arthur Rimbaud. Christian Bale shines as a prophetic version of Dylan, and Heath Ledger delivers an amazing performance as an actor playing Dylan on screen as his marriage falls apart. Finally there's Richard Gere (in perhaps the weakest segment of all) as an aging gun slinger who goes into exile à la Dylan after his 1966 motorcycle crash. This is high, high art. You'll hear much about Cate Blanchett's portrayal, and rightfully so as she nailed it. But pay close attention to Ben Whishaw as well. For me he was the one to shine.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   7 of 7 people found the following review helpful: