It's brilliant, demanding, exasperating; it's undramatic but absorbing, more enigmatic than revealing, up itself and wildly inventive.
I'm Not There (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:35
Fresh:25
Rotten:10
Average Rating:6.9/10
Consensus: I'm Not There's unique editing, visuals, and multiple talented actors portraying Bob Dylan make for a deliciously unconventional experience. Each segment brings a new and fresh take on Dylan's life.
Runtime: 2 hrs 17 mins
Genre: Musical & Performing Arts
US Box Office: $3,728,430
Synopsis: Todd Haynes (VELVET GOLDMINE, FAR FROM HEAVEN) delivers this dazzling, experimental take on the life of popular music's most revered and enigmatic artist: Bob Dylan. In keeping with the... Todd Haynes (VELVET GOLDMINE, FAR FROM HEAVEN) delivers this dazzling, experimental take on the life of popular music's most revered and enigmatic artist: Bob Dylan. In keeping with the impossible-to-pin-down nature of Dylan himself, Haynes chose to cast six different actors to portray several incarnations of the groundbreaking troubadour. The result is a challenging, sprawling work that spans several decades and genres. Woody (Marcus Carl Franklin) is a young black child with a folk music obsession; Jack Rollins (Christian Bale) is an upstart folksinger whose protest songs have ignited an entire generation; Arthur (Ben Wishaw) is a Rimbaud-esque figure who has begun to embrace a new form of lyrical poetry; Robbie (Heath Ledger) is a well-known actor whose marriage to the lovely Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) crumbles under the weight of his lifestyle; Billy (Richard Gere) is a slippery frontiersman who echoes Dylan's infatuation with the Old West and American folklore; and, finally, there is the substance-abusing, confrontational Jude (Cate Blanchett), who represents Dylan in the turbulent mid-1960s. Much in the same way that Dylan appropriated a vast array of musical styles to create his own vernacular, Haynes does the same thing with I'M NOT THERE, using his expansive knowledge of movie history to pay homage to a variety of movements and genres (Godard, Fellini, Lester, etc.). The typically extraordinary cinematographer Edward Lachman outdoes even himself this time around, incorporating so many different visual styles that it's impossible to decide which is the most beautiful. While the cast all fare well in their roles, it is Cate Blanchett who runs away with the picture, proving once again that she is one of the finest actors the movies have ever seen. [More]
Starring: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere
Starring: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw, Charlotte Gainsbourg, David Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams
Director: Todd Haynes
Director: Todd Haynes
Screenwriter: Todd Haynes, Oren Moverman
Producer: James D. Stern, John Sloss, John Goldwyn, Christine Vachon
Studio: Weinstein Company
Reviews for I'm Not There
A powerfully reverent exercise in remystification, an attempt to waft some of the clouds of glory back around the great man, clouds that might have dispersed in recent years.
An extraordinary attempt to encapsulate the many faces of Bob Dylan that plays better to the convert than the sceptic. Like the nasal twang of the man in question, the film finally beguiles more than it irritates.
I think it’s really interesting stuff and I enjoyed every aspect of it.
A challenging film, one that I suspect can only benefit from multiple viewings. The success of its approaches varies, but its intent is unfailingly interesting.
What Haynes does is take away the reassuring segues that argue everything flows and makes sense, and to show what's really chaos under the skin of the film.
Among its many achievements, Todd Haynes’s I’m Not There hurls a Molotov cocktail through the facade of the Hollywood biopic factory.
An absorbing, occasionally hallucinatory disquisition on how Dylan has brilliantly eluded his audience's projections.
Latest News for I'm Not There
May 05, 2008:
RT on DVD: I'm Not There is Here! Plus, News of the Blu-Ray Xbox 360 Rumors...
Microsoft comments on rumors that they'll be putting Blu-Ray players in Xbox 360s and the MPAA's best anti-piracy agents have bounties on their heads. Read more of this week's... More...
January 18, 2008:
2008 Movie Extra FILMINK Awards
The nominations for the 2008 Movie Extra FILMINK Awards, taking place in Sydney and televised nationally on Movie Extra on March 12th, have been announced. More...
January 14, 2008:
And the Golden Globes Winners Are...
It was missing the glitz and glitter of previous years, but the 65th annual Golden Globes were held via press conference yesterday, with Atonement, The Diving Bell and the... More...
December 21, 2007:
Awards Mania: Spirits, SAGs Get Waivers, Announce Nominations; Uncertainty Surrounds Golden Globes
Just when you think awards season can't get any awards-ier, here come two more sets of nominations! More...
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