I'm Not There (Todd Haynes, 2007)

I'm Not There (Todd Haynes, 2007)
Rating: 9.9

I'm not a Bob Dylan buff, in fact I don't know much about the man at all, but don't get me wrong I love his music, but I don't have any biased feelings one way or another and I can't comment on much of the accuracy, (from what I hear the film uses a lot of actual documented quotes from Dylan, however the film is not concerned with the the chronological order of major events in Dylan's life. Instead Hayne's avant-garde anti-biopic masterpiece seeks to reveal through six different actors each representing one of his personalities, Dylan's mystique, what he stood for, and what he meant to the world. Dylan's legendary bigger than life persona serves as the springboard for perhaps the biggest budget, semi "mainstream" experimental film ever made and how fitting it is as his poetic lyrics and anti establishment attitude coincide with the unconventional visual poem style filmmaking, letting Dylan's words and actions create who he is, rather than constructing secondhand phony reenactments of actual events to mislead the viewer. The film is very fragmented and dreamlike, reflecting Dylan's anti-nature sentiments, stating that "dreams are the most natural thing there is because of the lack of interferences." Haynes also raises interesting philosophical questions about "personality" and "self." Aren't we as humans more multi dimensional and entitled to more complex portrayals of our lives through art and entertainment mediums? After watching I'm Not There it will be difficult for me to ever look at a biopic in the same way, let alone film. I cannot forget to comment on the great job the actors, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Ben Whishaw, and Cate Blanchett did on their portrayals of Dylan's famed personas. Bale and Blanchett are especially good at recreating his mannerisms, but Blanchett especially steals the show. She captures the very essence of Dylan, as I was completely taken in by her performance.; neither gender nor her star persona became a distraction. She should be a lock for the Oscar.