I'm Not There - 2007 - Movie

I'm Not There

2007
IMDB Link

Six different people embody/channel Dylan, the most audacious of which is Cate Blanchett.  Unbelievable performances.  Drama, pathos, humor as well.

But I could not help but be struck by how very sad this story was.  There was melancholy and angst everywhere, sprayed across the screen, from the regrets of a family torn apart, to a dog left behind, a smoking motorcycle against a tree, and a confused public and bewilderment and disappointment with everything.

That about sums up the circus around Bob's work.  A very creative challenge, putting Dylan's biograph to a fictional setting and then lighting it on fire, like the girl lighting her head with a match in one scene as he drives away in a car.  Most excellent use of visual storytelling I've seen in a long while. It's also fitting that it's very much in the style of a 60s dreamscape film, seemingly dislocating, while also running 6 different stories at the same time that result in a cohesive whole.  That's a difficult thing to hold together, or pull together in the first place, and a nightmare for an editor.

But as usual, I'm behind the times in writing a review for this, as it is 9 years old and I'm just getting around to seeing it.

If you're a music fan, and a Dylan ponderer, this is like ice cream on the cake of what we already know.