I’m Not There

To capture the chameleon-like life of a folk/rock icon writer/director Todd Haynes (“Far From Heaven”) hired six actors to portray seven characters that make up the life of Bob Dylan in the unconventional bio-pic “I’m Not There.”

Dylan is known to have taken on different personalities and pseudonyms during his long and illustrious career—his most regularly used stage name influenced by poet Dylan Thomas—and the film uses these divergent personalities to craft a rather unique way of telling his story. For audience members who find comfort in a traditional linear structure, you won’t find it here. Though the film does have a loose narrative thread of Dylan’s life starting as an eleven year old to later in his career, the film spends a lot of time bouncing through the colorful time line that is his life.

Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, and Richard Gere are among the ensemble that take turns portraying various aspects of the musician’s life and work. Of all the portrayals of Dylan’s life, the most impressive is turned in by Cate Blanchett (“The Lord of the Rings,” “Babel”). In a rather unorthodox casting decision, Blanchett plays Dylan playing a character named Jude, Dylan during his most outspoken and argumentative days. Except for experimental films or music videos, this type of story treatment has not been done in a mainstream movie.

The film starts with a young Bobby Dylan taking on the persona of a train-hopping, eleven year-old (Marcus Carl Franklin) African-American guitar player who goes by the name of Woody Gutherie. It then goes back and forth, and forth and back, hitting various parts of his life and career.

Considering the subject matter, the film is relatively tame for an R-rating. There is a fair amount of profanity, as well as a brief sex scene early in the film between Heath Ledger’s Dylan and a young woman that we see nude in a rather tight close up of her chest. The scene is shot in very cinematic black and white. There is a brief scene of nudity when Heath Ledger parades around with a loosely hung towel.

“I’m Not There” is a film definitely for distinguished tastes. The film is very artistic, and the cinematography, that goes from lush colors to crisp black and whites, make the film artistically pleasing. Film enthusiasts and aspiring film-makers will probably enjoy the unconventional casting and non typical story structure, and fans of Bob Dylan will probably enjoy this “out of the box” look at his life as well. Most general audience members may not find enough in this film to sustain their interest, during the constantly shifting story structure. If you’re looking for a film a bit out of the mainstream, than “I’m Not There” is worth finding.

Violence: None / Profanity: Moderate / Sex/Nudity: Moderate