Film Screening 10th April, 2008

Poster for I'm Not There

I'm Not There 

8:00 PM, 10th April, 2008

  • 135 mins
  • Unknown
  • Todd Haynes
  • Todd Haynes, Oren Moverman
  • Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw

Few figures in 20th century music are more deserving of the label "enigma" than Bob Dylan. There are five main "Dylans" played firstly by a young black actor (Marcus Carl Franklin), then Bale as a folk singer who converts to Christianity, Blanchett as a star who turns his back on the songs that made him famous, Ledger as a movie star (something Dylan never was) and family man, and Gere as a cowboy. A sixth Dylan (Whishaw) also appears in faux interviews. We only meet the real Bob Dylan, lit by a spotlight and blowing into a harmonica, at the very end of the film.I'm Not There is intentionally disjointed. No effort is made to explain how these "Dylans" are connected, which is the point, I think. The film switches from black-and-white to colour at random and, to confuse things, a lot has been made-up so it is difficult to determine fact from fiction. Dylan fans will love this film for the music. For everyone else, you'll see six gifted actors challenged by playing facets of a complete man, while moving not one step closer to comprehending Bob Dylan, which is as it should be.

Tamara Lee