Dylan may not be there - but everyone else is there...

Rating: 9/10 (10 August 2008)

I'm not there. (2007)  Directed by Todd Haynes There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman; some kind of abstraction. But there is no real me: only an entity, something illusory. And though I can hide my cold gaze, and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable... I simply am not there.
Ignoring the word simply, the last time I heard "I'm not there" was from the amazing film American Psycho  so the first thing that sprang to mind when I first heard of this title were these words uttered by Patrick Bateman. But alas this is something far different.
"I'm Not There" the Biopic of the forever changing man Bob Dylan comes to us from Todd Haynes  already familiar with the music genre having delivered the highly original Velvet Goldmine back in 1998. The title stems from a previously unreleased Dylan recording of the title song "I'm Not There", which was recorded during the "The Basement Tapes" sessions. Haynes has set out on a Dylan Journey capturing the truth in the lies, grandeur, childishness and arrogance that made Dylan as notorious as he was and ever will be. Some have called him genius and if you're a fan of any of his work you will marvel at his rhymes and playfulness with harmonica and guitar. Haynes transports you into Dylan's mind as well from a side line through the eyes of many of the people that came across him over the years, by bringing us six incarnations of Bob Dylan: an actor, a folk singer, an electrified troubadour, Rimbaud, Billy the Kid, and Woody Guthrie. On top of this Todd Haynes with pure mixing skill and musical greatness that could probably only be emulated by Bob himself puts Dylan's music behind their adventures, soliloquies, interviews, marriage, and infidelity.
Before seeing this cinematic work  I had heard rumours that some of the cast were strong while others put in a weak performance. Well I'm not usually a fan of Richard Gere  his movies such as "Shall we Dance" should never had been made and I had heard a lot of bad press in regards to his performance but I think this simply may be down to people not really getting the reasoning behind him as Billy the Kid. Without ruining it for you Gere is a version of the elderly Dylan with the other stories being in the past of this story. This story focuses on Dylan's country life of the Woodstock era and his later years. A very solid performance from Gere - don't believe the haters.
It has been said before but I will say it again: Cate Blanchett turns in the strongest and most recognizable performance of Dylan playing the character Jude Quinn, a version of Dylan who was at the height of his fame in the 60's as he toured with the Beatles in London when his original fan base was rejecting him as a sell out  truly mesmerising and dream like sequences reminiscent of many 60's art films of the era and interviews given by Dylan.
Christian Bale (Jack Rollins) focusing on Dylan's early folk era and then later finding Christianity is as you would expect nothing but solid  will Bale ever do a bad movie? Reign of Fire isn't a bad movie! The late Heath Ledger turns in phenomenal performance in the form of the fictional Robbie Clark who focuses on Dylan's personal life and his brief appetite into the world of acting as he plays Bale's fictional character Jack Rollins in the film "Grain of Sand" referenced to 1981's haunting Gospel song.
The most enjoyable performance to watch musically probably comes from the very young and talented African American actor Marcus Carl Franklin (a name to watch I personally believe)  he is the traveling Dylan reminiscing about the past always on the run with the other hobo's while singing the Blues while giving youth and crossing borders to who Dylan is and was and wanted to be.
And last but by no means least a solid performance is put in by Ben Whishaw who is forever being questioned by what could be the CIA, FBI or just simply the establishment  spouting vague poetic meaning to his questions that some could interpret as meaningless but others will interpret to mean a thousand things that only Dylan could of come up with.
If you're easily confused and simple in the head and possibly not a fan of Bob Dylan or you have no appreciation for any of the above actors mentioned then maybe yes you won't enjoy this Biopic of a mysterious musician who was many things. But if you approach this with intrigue and the desire to escape into Todd Haynes world of Bob Dylan then you will find a highly rewarding 135mins that will urge you once again to dig out your old Dylan records for another play.
9/10  Well Done Todd Haynes