Ambiguous, Decietful, but nonetheless Dylan

Rating: 5/10 (27 November 2007)

I am a large Dylan fan, and i love watching well produced independent films just as much as the next vagabond, but in this case the two don't mix all too well. Haynes from the start has obviously well interpreted the life of the infamous and controversial folk singer, and from that derived a great production plan for his film through the script, editing, and (possibly the best thing about the film) the acting. The only problem is, he forgot to take into account that the audience will not have a copy of Dylans autobiography in their lap while watching the film. Between the names of characters, their counterparts, the sequencing differential of chronological truth, and the cut sequencing, i sat through this film squirming in my seat. I regret now not having waited for video release, as the pause and rewind buttons would have come quite in handy, yet as of this point i have ruined it for myself and doubt that i will take the time to sit through this again. The problem is, with a little exception towards Gere's 'Billy the Kid' mash up, the characters are little explained but overly developed. You leave the theater with a sense of Dylan's life-long ambiguity, but only in the most abstract of senses, with Little fact and little insurance that what you processed in your head was anything like what the director was truly trying to convey. At the movies end, i was confused about everything i had just seen, only with exception to Dylan's periodical philosophy. The director had the right idea. Yet, despite his attempts to parallel the films confused and frenzied state to the mind of the legendary Dylan, he could have kept his artistic character parallels and insanely disorderly flashbacks somewhat more relevant to Dylan, if only for a little less indecisive and more thoughtful explanation.