A crazy film which shouldn't work, but for most of the time does.
I'm Not There (2007)
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Reviews Counted:152
Fresh:117
Rotten:35
Average Rating:7/10
Consensus: I'm Not There's unique editing, visuals, and multiple talented actors portraying Bob Dylan make for a deliciously unconventional experience. Each segment brings a new and fresh take on Dylan's life.
Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for language, some sexuality and nudity.
Runtime: 2 hrs 17 mins
Genre: Musical & Performing Arts
Theatrical Release:21-12-2007
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... 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. [More]
Starring: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere
Starring: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw, Charlotte Gainsbourg, David Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams
Director: Todd Haynes
Director: Todd Haynes
Screenwriter: Todd Haynes, Oren Moverman
Producer: James D. Stern, John Sloss, John Goldwyn, Christine Vachon
Studio: Weinstein Company
Reviews for I'm Not There
This works so well that long before the end you don’t merely accept the use of these wildly diverse personae, but you may also even wonder whether Dylan’s story could properly be told any other way
There are also some great performances from Heath Ledger, Christian Bale and, particularly, Blanchett. But director Todd Haynes works under the misapprehension that everyone who sees this film will have a detailed knowledge of Dylan.
This drama, a surreal, fractured examination of the mercurial singer-songwriter comes closer to revealing the man behind the music than anything that’s come before, but still preserves his essential mystery.
A fascinating work for cinema and Bob Dylan fans alike. Haynes has painted a perfect picture tribute to the musical icon that only misses a beat in the final quarter. One actor simply couldn’t do the man justice.
Haynes, astutely perhaps, has created a biopic with little time for "justice" or indeed any of the reverence and piety of recent films such as Walk the Line or Ray.
A powerfully reverent exercise in remystification, an attempt to waft some of the clouds of glory back around the great man, clouds that might have dispersed in recent years.
A multifaceted diamond of a film. Todd Haynes joyously freewheels through the times of Bob Dylan.
You'll have your work cut out keeping track of Haynes' dotty intentions, but there remains something compelling in his mercurial art.
An extraordinary attempt to encapsulate the many faces of Bob Dylan that plays better to the convert than the sceptic. Like the nasal twang of the man in question, the film finally beguiles more than it irritates.
Todd Haynes' bold, unconventional Dylan biopic is an experiment that doesn't always pay off, but there are strokes of genius in both the direction and performances.
There's a wonderfully adventurous tone to this Bob Dylan biopic that keeps us utterly gripped, even though it's hard to get a grip on.
I'm Not There is coy and fatuous, but it also can be intriguing and thought-provoking. But I'm Not There makes us consider Dylan with new eyes.
Abstract expressionism, paying tribute to its hero in a fashion every bit as enigmatic and chameleon-like as the man himself. Is it a faux-documentary? Is it a biographical drama? At times, it is both. In the end, we are left with an ambitious misfire.
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