Jan 12 2009
B+ Movie Review: I’m Not There
Biopics on musicians tend to go in a pattern: Young talented artist comes from nothing, deals with unscrupulous execs, makes a name, fights an addiction or fights becoming a jerk, then it all comes together in some sort of over-arching message. It’s been tried and true since movies about Elvis and Loretta Lynn.
This patter is cast utterly aside by the movie I’m Not There.
I’m Not There is about Bob Dylan, an examination of his life and work, spanning from childhood up to the seventies. The story is broken into six storylines and in each storyline, Dylan is portrayed by a different actor.
In one, Christian Bale protrays the idealistic and firey Dylan who shocked people with contreversy. In another, Cate Blanchett plays the Dylan who made thousands of hippies feel betrayed by going electric. In another, Heath Ledger shows him as a man just trying to deal with love and a wife and kids. Each part is distinct and powerful, complete in and of itself.
The movie delves not just into Dylan as an artist, but as a man trying to find himself; establish an identity rather than having one attached to him. By splitting him into pieces, the director is able to show him as a whole person.
Parts of the movie work better than others: The strongest is the “Jude” storyline, the one played by Blanchett. The most confusing one is Richard Gere’s bit in which he plays Dylan in self imposed exile and in which the story becomes even more allegorical and surreal. The opening storyline where Dylan is played by a young, African-American boy is good, but it pales in comparision to the angry take on Dylan in the “Arthur” storyline, which appears to be an interrigation and confession, tying the storylines together.
Bob Dylan is the very definition of what it means to be an influence. Seeing him brought back to earth by a little acid trip of a film is enlightening and engrossing, even if at the end you feel just a touch confused on some of the details. For the confusion, I give I’m Not There a B but still recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed Dylan’s music, the artists who have been inspired or performed songs by the man or for that matter anyone who has had the luxury of being able to ask “Who am I”.
