do the homework first

Rating: 8/10 (24 February 2008)

I know a bit about Dylan, and I understand why people who don't would not get as much out of this, especially the born-again stuff and Richard Gere's extended riff on "Renaldo & Clara". And maybe it's just my own preoccupations, but I find that this is most engaging when it's dealing with the clash between celebrity 'protest' culture and personal artistic vision - which mainly means whenever the brilliant Cate Blanchett is on screen. She REALLY has a field day with the man in his undeniable prime. All seven Dylans do the job though, and the stylistics mostly enhance rather than confuse - I love the Beatles and Ginsburg cameos and anything taking place on a freight train. The stuff involving his 'wife' tends to lose me a little though, and when the 60s snapshot montages descend, look out Time-Life Video. I do like the balanced and critical take Haynes has on Dylan's self-centered myth-making, taking stock of both the pleasures and the falsehoods - sometimes the pleasures ARE falsehoods.