Dylan May Not Be There, But All the Clues Certainly Are

Rating: 9/10 (18 December 2007)

This is an amazing film. It's not your typical Hollywod fare. But then again, Dylan's never been tagged as being typical. Come to think of it, as far as I know Dylan's never been tagged. But Todd Haynes does his best. With a cast of characters that spans age, race and a multitude of eras, this is the closest I think we are going to get to knowing the real Bob Dylan...as if there really is one. Despite Dylan's notoriously impenetrable mantle, Haynes does a great job. He gives us a glimpse, let's us take a peek through the keyhole as it were.
And as excited as I was to see the film, I was equally excited to learn that Dylan (or a character closely resembling him) is the subject of another equally innovative treatment of what fame does to the artist; and what we the artist is able to do to us. The book is a murder-mystery called BLOOD ON THE TRACKS, and it's written by Los Angeles screenwriter Tom Grasty. And while Grasty's portrayal doesn't attempt to deconstruct the Dylan mythology as much as the Haynes film, it does put an enigmatic rock legend at its center. But if you look close enough you can see the imprint of Dylan throughout.
Which brings us back to "I'm Not There." The fact that so many attempts have been made over the years to pin Bob Dylan down is a testament to the grip Dylan has on our collective cultural psyche. Or psyches as the case is with this film since there are several different 'Dylans' here...yet Dylan's not there at all. As I said, it's an amazing glimpse at a man who frankly I'm amazed let Haynes take a look at all.
But then again, I'm sure Dylan didn't tell Haynes anything he didn't want the rest of is to know.