Solid Cast Makes "I'm Not There" Worth Checking Out

Rating: 8/10 (30 October 2009)

A young fraud riding the rails, a political protest singer turned Born Again Christian, an actor with a troubled personal life, a folk singer gone electric Rock N' Roller, a poet in question, and an old gunslinger hiding from his past all provide insight into the life of one of music's most influential and iconic figures, Bob Dylan.
"I'm Not There" is a look into the life of Bob Dylan but in one of the most peculiar and genius ways. The film portrays the musician in an array of six characters each representing an aspect of Dylan's life. The solid cast and genius story telling makes this film worth while.
The movie begins with first incarnation of Dylan is the character Woody (Marcus Carl Franklin), a young African American boy who has run away and is riding the rails. He tells different stories of his origin to different people. He travels around telling his story and plucking a few tunes out on his guitar. The next Dylan-esquire character we meet is Arthur Rimbaud (Ben Whishaw). Arthur is a poet being questioned by the law. His answers are used to introduce or provide insight for the other characters and their story lines. The following character to be brought into this story is Jack Rollins (Christian Bale). Rollins is a caricature of Dylan during his protest song era. Jack is followed by his fans to the end of the earth. But, when he is given the Thomas Paine award he goes off into a drunken rage at all the people at the award ceremony. Jack flees afterwords and is reincarnated later in the film as Pastor John, a Born Again Christian minister. Robbie Clark (Heath Ledger) is an actor who is starring in a biography film about Jack Rollins. Robbie's life off screen draws parallels to Dylan's relationship with his wife and children. Jude Quinn (Cate Blanchett) is the Bob Dylan of 1965. Jude is the iconic Bob Dylan being harassed by fans and the media for taking his music in another direction. Billy the Kid (Richard Gere) is the famed cowboy who has escaped from the law and has settled into the town of Riddle. This draws on Dylan's obsession with outlaws, especially Billy the Kid.
Generally the cast of "I'm Not There" is pretty good. Cate Blanchett is stunningly great as Jude and her performance gets closer than any's as Bob Dylan. The film is at its best when she is on screen. I did find Arthur's subtle commentary throughout the film to be rather good as well. Bale, Franklin, and Ledger also give solid performances as their Dylans.The weak link of this movie is Richard Gere. I don't blame Gere, though. He tries to make due with what he is given. The character Billy just isn't that interesting.
"I'm Not There" has an original, fresh, and peculiar story and an all star cast that makes it worth seeing. "I'm Not There" gets a B+ in my book.