13) I'm Not There
Directed by Todd Haynes
Released in 2007
I'm Not There is both incredible and frustrating in equal measures. There are moments when I think Haynes has created a masterpiece and there are moments when I feel utterly drained by the movie.
It's almost criminal to call it a biopic of Bob Dylan because I'm Not There is so unlike anything that the genre has ever produced before. The film revolves around six intertwining and non-linear portraits of Dylan that are all performed by different actors. Each character represents a different 'face' or 'era' of Dylan that is influenced not only by the iconic singer's life story, but also his lyrics, stories, myths and inspirations.
For example, Marcus Carl Franklin plays him during his childhood working in carnivals and playing 1930s folk songs for his supper; a fictional back story influenced by what Dylan told journalists when he arrived in New York in 1961. Meanwhile, Cate Blanchett plays him as he turns away from folk music during his 1965-66 tour; events which actually occurred and are well-known to any Dylan fan.
For Dylan fanatics like myself this makes the film a lot of fun at times as you try to decode the meaning of the scenes by thinking about his lyrics, his interviews, events in his life, etc. Even if you aren't a huge fan of Dylan though, it's very original and undoubtedly interesting. After all, he's such an enigmatic character who is contradictory, mysterious and puzzling and I'm Not There perfectly captures this persona. Moreover, casting such a variety of actors to play him enforces the idea that Dylan was a voice of the people. He's you, he's me, he's female, male, black, white, young, old, etc.
The six narratives are also filmed in different styles too and this makes I'm Not There a joy to watch. The aforementioned 65-66 era, for example, is shot in a style reminiscent of 8 and 1/2 while Christian Bale's segment is made like a documentary. Also, the soundtrack is awesome with the likes of Sonic Youth, Eddie Vedder and the fantastic Jim Jones providing their own unique covers of Dylan material.
However, my main problem with I'm Not There is that, as interesting and artistic as the concept is, none of the six portraits of Dylan have strong enough stories to really grip you to the film. They simply show him in different eras with different personalities and that's it. There is no connection between them, they don't really have an arc and there is no consistent theme running through the movie. At times, therefore, it's like watching six short films that have simply been spliced up and connected in a non-linear order to make a 2 hour compilation.
Furthermore, there are a number of bizarre sequences in the film that seem to add nothing to the film. They don't present another side to Dylan or represent any moment in his life. The Ballad Of A Thin Man scene, for example, although it is very well filmed and the cover by Stephen Malkmus is amazing, only reinforces the rivalry between Dylan and Keenan Jones and seems to exist for the sole purpose of showing off Haynes' film-making.
You have to admire Haynes for making such an original film that refuses to conform to any genre cliches or story-telling conventions. However, I feel like he takes it a bit too far sometimes. While there are times when I'm Not There is fascinating, enigmatic and artistic, it can also be pretentious and self-indulgent.
3/5
4 comments:
I hate it when I write quite a lot and then click off and it's all deleted. Imma shank a bitch up.
But to paraphrase
- I loved it the first few times but the last viewing left a lot to desire
- Blanchett <3
- Also Ledger
- And soundtrack (particularly use of Stuck Inside a Mobile and Positively Fourth Street)
- Incoherent dribble, with not much thought-provoking to say
6/10
Absolutely agree with all those points. Blanchett is the best actress working in films nowadays without a doubt. She's SO good!
Plus, the soundtrack really is immense. For my money, the cover of Going To Acapulco is even better than the original, and that's a grand statement coming from a Dylan maniac.
Have you noticed that when discusses why women could never be poets, he says "You write down the nastiest thing you can think of and I'll write down the nastiest thing I can think of" in an accent very similar to The Joker.
It's quite weird to hear it coming from him without the make up on. :S
Shame that, despite all those things, it's a bit of a pretentious mess overall.
*When Ledger discusses
Yeah a friend of mine saw it at the LFF when Haynes was there. He hated the film and said that he didn't know what he was on about. I suppose I do enjoy the visualizations of his music because I can never listen to much for too long as I just get depressed and lonely, besides the songs in the film (though many I enjoyed prior).
Also reading a Springsteen magazine I have, I've learned that Dylan's influence on him was actually rather slight in his early years.
Post a Comment