Lester Bangs once wrote, "I have always believed that rock 'n' roll comes down to myth. There are no 'facts.'" While rock 'n' roll is full of numerous facts, the best rock stories equally rely on the myths. I'm Not There does just this by intertwining the legends of Bob Dylan's life with the authentic details. It does not stick to the typical biopic narrative style. To cinematically display the life of Bob Dylan, the movie cuts between 6 actors portraying its subject in 7 different significant cross-sections of life. Motivated by both the life and music of Dylan, the outcome is a biopic that focuses on creating the aesthetic or semblance of Dylan's persona.
Director and co-writer Todd Haynes is not a newcomer to artistic, musical biopics. One of his earliest films was the now discontinued and recalled Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story. The film illegally used songs from The Carpenters' catalog but told Karen Carpenter's story by almost entirely using Barbie dolls. In Velvet Goldmine, he created a pictorial impression of 70's glam rock. The two main characters, Brian Slade and Curt Wild, represented culminations of David Bowie, Marc Bolan, Brian Eno, Lou Reed, and Iggy Pop. By contrast, with I'm Not There Haynes dissects one musician into 7 facets of his career.
Marcus Carl Franklin's Dylan character is named Woody Guthrie. He embodies the early stages of Dylan's musical career. In search of his own voice, he attempts to imitate Guthrie's songs. He makes up and changes his background story with each telling. It is obvious he intrigues and draws in everyone around him. He copies the music and ideas of the people with whom he surrounds himself. Played by a 12-year-old African American, this representation of Dylan is a symbol of the way Robert Zimmerman faked his way into the Greenwich Village scene.
Cut to Christian Bale personifying Dylan as the character Jack Rollins. When Jack Rollins is first presented, he is the folk troubadour, the early 60's folk hero. He becomes a musical legend and the voice of a generation. Then he seems to disappear. Later in the the film, Rollins reappears to the public eye. While still singing, the character is now a born again Christian and pastor.
Cate Blanchett, as Jude Quinn, reproduces the mid-60's Dylan, the one who defied his fans by going electric, the one who embraced the art of rock 'n' roll, the one who mumbled his way through interviews full of contradictions and sarcastic quips. Caught in a whirlwind of stardom and artistic self-assurance, Jude Quinn spirals with a degradation brought on by drugs and alcohol.
Heath Ledger symbolizes the part of Dylan that attempted to settle down and lead a somewhat normal life. As actor Robbie Clark, Ledger's character is often away from his wife and children. After years of distance, Clark and his wife struggle through a divorce. While most of the characters in this film are based on Dylan's varying public displays, Robbie Clark's role is primarily inspired by Dylan's personal life. One strong cinematic symbol of this character is that his first appearance is nakedly walking in and out of the reflective image of his female counterpart.
Richard Gere is the outlaw, Billy The Kid. He's shunned the public eye and retreated to a carnival-type western town. He appears to be a man on the run from his own identity. He lives in an unrealistic world. While the character of Billy is a symbol for the Dylan that wishes to disappear from popular culture, some of the scenes involving this character provide the only missteps in the presentation by seeming confusing, distracting, and disconnected.
Finally, Ben Whishaw symbolizes Dylan the poet. As the character Arthur Rimbaud, he used a transitional character. Self-aware of his artistic importance, Rimbaud confidently and eloquently reflects on his role in musical history as he shifted from one character to another.
This film does not attempt to give a complete description of Dylan as a person. Instead, it focuses on numerous facets of the life that Dylan has shared with the public. It examines the musician as an ever-changing cast of characters. Unlike Scorsese's documentary No Direction Home, facts are not laid out and there is not a specific chronological order to the story. I'm Not There's greatest strength is the way in which it crafts a biopic by presenting the subject's essence above retelling the story of one man's life.
www.imnotthere-movie.com
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