← Back to Reviews
in
Todd Haynes' "I'm Not There" is a movie depicting Bob Dylan with many different faces; the man as he truly was, the man he believed he was, the man the way people saw him, the man in the way he wishes to be perceived.
Bob Dylan in all his various forms are played by an array of spectacular film veterans including Richard Gere as the outlaw side of Dylan in the form of Billy the Kid and Cate Blanchett as Dylan in the the hight of his career, hated by most of his previous fans for "selling out" and not sure what to believe in anymore. These are just two examples of a remarkable cast.
As a (what some would call) "die-hard" Bob Dylan fan, I went in to this movie not knowing what to expect. On one hand, I was ecstatic that such a film had been in fact made to honor the man for what he was. On the other hand i was fearful that, like the Beatles in "Across the Universe", Bob Dylan and his music would be misrepresented in a flurry of psychedelic lights and bad covers. My fears were almost immediately taken away in the first 2 minutes of the film with a stunningly accurate performance in black/white by British actor Ben Whishaw as Bob Dylan in questioning.
Haynes' style really amazed me, not letting the audience member settle into one area of Dylan's life for too long before taking him straight into another. The use of different film really helped convey the difference between each individual piece of his story, switching from grainy overexposed shots to cool black and white ones. The writing was both innovative and expressed the man very clearly and powerfully.
At its core, "Im Not There" is every Bob Dylan fan's dream. All they have to do is be patient and willing to open their mind to an interesting take on such an amazing life.
4 out of 5 stars
I'm Not There
Todd Haynes' "I'm Not There" is a movie depicting Bob Dylan with many different faces; the man as he truly was, the man he believed he was, the man the way people saw him, the man in the way he wishes to be perceived.
Bob Dylan in all his various forms are played by an array of spectacular film veterans including Richard Gere as the outlaw side of Dylan in the form of Billy the Kid and Cate Blanchett as Dylan in the the hight of his career, hated by most of his previous fans for "selling out" and not sure what to believe in anymore. These are just two examples of a remarkable cast.
As a (what some would call) "die-hard" Bob Dylan fan, I went in to this movie not knowing what to expect. On one hand, I was ecstatic that such a film had been in fact made to honor the man for what he was. On the other hand i was fearful that, like the Beatles in "Across the Universe", Bob Dylan and his music would be misrepresented in a flurry of psychedelic lights and bad covers. My fears were almost immediately taken away in the first 2 minutes of the film with a stunningly accurate performance in black/white by British actor Ben Whishaw as Bob Dylan in questioning.
Haynes' style really amazed me, not letting the audience member settle into one area of Dylan's life for too long before taking him straight into another. The use of different film really helped convey the difference between each individual piece of his story, switching from grainy overexposed shots to cool black and white ones. The writing was both innovative and expressed the man very clearly and powerfully.
At its core, "Im Not There" is every Bob Dylan fan's dream. All they have to do is be patient and willing to open their mind to an interesting take on such an amazing life.
4 out of 5 stars