An interesting experiment

Rating: Null/10 (20 March 2008)

An interesting experiment with its somewhat innovative style and technique hailed by some as ingenious and denounced by others as gimmicky (depending on which critic you listen to), "I'm not there" is not that different from the several singer biopics we've seen in the last little while: Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles ("Ray"), Kevin Spacey as Bobby Darin ("Beyond the sea"), Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash ("Walk the line") and recently crowned Oscar Best Lead Actress Marion Cotillard as Edith Piaf ("La vie en rose"). Come to think of it, the temporal scrambling therein is not that different from what you see in "La vie en rose".
Nor is the vicissitudes in life of Bob Dylan that different from many of these other singers: deprived childhood, substance abuse, marital problems, unpopular musical style changes, identity crisis. The unique thing about this movie's delivery of the singer's story is the technique of using six different characters to depict the various aspects of his life. (And this has absolutely nothing to do whatsoever with Luigi Pirandello's popular play "Six characters in search of an author"). In each of these segments (which incidentally are liberally mixed, and seasoned with generously sprayed surrealism) there is a particular focus. In some of them, there are also prominent characters that the protagonist plays out the scenes with. Incidentally, all the six Bob Dylan have been given a different name.
For Dylan's pre-teen days, there is young, unknown black actor Marcus Carl Franklin. This segment depicts the first discovery of Dylan's musical talents. The second cut, featurimg Ben Whishaw (who was impressive in the lead role of "Perfume: the story of a murderer"), is most unique. He appears only as the defendant in front of a law court. The lines he delivers, while purportedly answers to the judge's questions, are searching comments on Dylan's personality, serving as anchor for all the other segments. The final cut shows Richard Gere as a Dylan in his later stage, pensive, reflective and with a trace of remorsefulness.
The meat is in the remaining three cuts. Christian Bale's version is closest to Bob Dylan the singer that the public is most familiar with. Heath Ledger's version focuses on the domestic front. With marvelous French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg ("21 grams", "Lemming") playing Dylan's wife, it follows the initial romance to the tragically failed marriage. Most publicized is of course Cate Blanchette's portrayal which secured for her Best Supporting nominations in all 4 major film awards (Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA, Independent Spirit) and wins in two (Golden Globe drama category and Independent Spirit). In this segment we see attempts to delve more deeply into the man Dylan, sometimes through rather surreal sequences. While most of this is soliloquy, we also see two other significant players: Bruce Greenwood (too many movies to quote) as a persistent journalist and Michelle Williams (Heath Ledger's wife in "Brokeback Mountain") as the other woman in Dylan's life.
Regardless of whether you like this "experiment" or not, which probably boils down to personal taste, it's a cinematic experience worth having, particularly with so much acting talents on display.