ksmith402 Bob Dylan is one of the most legendary and innovative singers in Folk history and I can't think of any other way that a filmmaker could've done his life justice than this movie.The movie doesn't follow the conventional biopic formula as it depicts his life through six different characters who represent different areas of Dylan's life. The film does a compelling exploration of the constantly changing music/entertainment industry and society throughout the 1900's in which inspired one of Bob Dylan's best songs "The Times They Are A Changin".The direction, cinematography and editing are all outstanding along with amazing performances from all six actors playing incarnations of Bob Dylan including Cate Blanchett who should've won an Oscar for her performance and I consider hers to be the best performance of a recording artist in cinematic history so far.I'm Not There is a great watch for all fans of Bob Dylan and for music and film fans in general.

billcr12 First and foremost, Bob Dylan is a genius and a perfect subject for interpretation. A great idea with mixed results in I'm Not There. Cate Blanchett opens as Jude Quinn, a mid 1960s era Dylan getting on stage but quickly shown in a motorcycle accident. The British actress looks uncannily like the folk singer, especially in silhouette. Marcus Carl Franklin portrays Woody Guthrie and the eleven year old boy proves to be a major talent. He travels the country by train and in a time shift travels to a hospital to perform a song for the real Woody Guthrie. Christian Bale is in a documentary style portion as fans praise the great artist as the voice of a generation as he treats and reporters with contempt. Bobby does not come off to well as a human being.Later on, Bale reappears as a born again pastor, which showcases Dylan's brief Christian period , preaching to a congregation and singing the gospel tune "Pressing On" from the album "Saved."Heath Ledger is in a film within the film as an actor playing the Christian Bale character in the least interesting part of I'm Not There. The second unnecessary segment is Richard Gere as Billy the Kid looking for his dog and meeting Pat Garrett and a convoluted storyline with a funeral, a jail break and back to the train once again. I found the whole experience a disjointed mess with some fine acting. I love Dylan's work, so this is a wasted effort.

secondtake I'm Not There (2007)So startling in its invention, so beautiful and stunning the photography and acting, and so appropriate for its subject, Bob Dylan, why does it not quite hold water?Don't get me wrong, I love the movie, the music, and Cate Blanchett equally. It has an extraordinary logic to its many many parts, as well, making not only a fanciful (downright surreal) patchwork of a movie, but a reasonable commentary on the true life Dylan. I could and will watch it again.If you don't know much about Bob Dylan, or don't like his music, I have to say the odds are against you here. If there ever was a movie filled with references (many of them highly symbolic and distant, veiled even), this is it. Even if you like Dylan you might find it hard to follow, so you need to enjoy just sitting back and going for the ride. I'm not sure getting stoned first would help in this case because it's so disorienting at times.Advice for the uninitiated? Read a quick bio of Dylan (Wikipedia might work) and get a sense of at least these core moments: 1) he visited Woody Guthrie on his death bed and was playing folk songs in a traditional vein, 2) he modernized when he moved to the Village, still keeping the folk sound with edgy new lyrics (and this is when he met Joan Baez), 3) he shocked everyone when he went electric at a folk festival (actually at Newport), 4) he was in a near fatal motorcycle accident in 1966 5) he took on a cowboy persona for his 1967 album, John Wesley Harding. That should help with some orientation for the different characters and scenes.For those who are right for the film, including no doubt the director Todd Haynes, who got Dylan's approval for the project ahead of time, this will be a memorable experience.

TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews This is my first exposure to Todd Haynes, who I understand is almost always taking this artistic of an approach to his material. There are, in fact, several different film-making styles utilized here; one for each narrative. I honestly don't know an awful lot about Dylan, and I think that you have to, in order to fully appreciate this(in any event, you should realize that this is not, nor was it intended to be, a bio-pic). Yes, there are six actors portraying him, and yes, one is a woman and another is an African-American kid(his performance is excellent... in fact, all of them are, not just this half a dozen of them). From what I do know about the man, they adopt traits of his, and are rather well-cast. They represent his many "lives"; the FAQ explains them immensely well. This certainly is an interesting piece, and offers food for thought. It is philosophical at times. The dialog is well-written and delivered nicely. From a technical standpoint, this is marvelous; the editing and cinematography are skillful. Meanwhile, this will still alienate those expecting a mainstream treatment of the man's life, akin to Ray or Walk the Line. There is infrequent strong language, a little violence and disturbing content as well as brief nudity(male and female) and sexuality in this. The DVD comes with 24 minutes of extended scenes, a funny 4 minute gag reel, a 3 minute Heath tribute and a trailer for this and one for Forbidden Kingdom. I recommend this to fans of the singer, and those who enjoy the medium on other levels than that of presenting entertainment, or a straightforward story. 8/10