I’m Not There Reviewed

Todd Haynes is a director that I’ve heard a lot more about than actually seen films of.  While I was not a fan of Velvet Goldmine, Far From Heaven was interesting.  I’m Not There is assuredly nothing like either of these films.  In case you haven’t heard the film’s ruse is to take the biopic and turn it on its head.  Six different actors play the different Dylan characters from various periods of his life.

We quickly realise this will not be a traditional biopic when we are introduced to 11 year old version played by the young black actor Marcus Carl Franklin.  He lives a transient life in railway cars playing his music to whoever will listen and going by the name of Woody Guthrie.  He is painted as full of pragmatic optimism and streetwise life experience.  While Christian Bale, furthers that idealism as a fervent protest song writer and later the 80’s dedicated Christian Dylan.  Heath Ledger gets to play the part of the superstar actor losing his touch with people at large and building a general ambiguity.  Cate Blanchett gets the interesting role as the nihilistic and belligerent transitional Dylan who first goes Electric.  Finally Richard Gere plays an older Billy the Kid, Dylan in his later years.  An ambitious plan but is it more than a gimmick?

Hayne’s trick is to all of the different Dylan myths and build a picture of them through it.  All biopics and especially those of musicians play on the rock and roll myth but this is the first time I’ve ever seen the myth used as the subject of the film.  By piecing together the stories in such an interesting way Haynes eliminates any discussion of what is fact and fiction.  Dylan’s biographer could well be at a loss to make such divisions.  Indeed Dylan has promoted many a falsehood about his origins, and indeed it is Dylan’s duplicity and managed character that make for the real subject of the film.  The stories flashes between these characters with each being treated as completely separate persons.  While any one on its own would be a wafer thin depiction together it makes for a much more interesting portrait.

The film does not open up any magical insights into the man and indeed in one of the extended sequences following Blanchett’s character I began to wonder if it had anything to say about him at all.  Its conceit is that it is only the full picture of the film’s strands that makes any sense.

Each segment is treated very differently with Bale’s part played as a documentary complete with retrospective interviews and others more like a drama.   Each actor does a convincing and effective portrayal.  After an initial adjustment period you won’t have much trouble working from the styles, filmstock, and character exactly what era you are facing.

This is a new benchmark for biopics and I will be looking out for Safe in the near future to make sure my faith in Haynes has not been misplaced.

Oh and the music’s great throughout (of course I’m assuming you know if you will like the soundtrack or not already).
8/10

The DVD is out now for about £12 all over the web.