2008 Woodie Awards
Bob Dylan split into six movements in anti-biopic
By: Matthew Freundlich
Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: Lifestyle
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Five Stars
Anyone who comes to "the new Bob Dylan movie" expecting a spoon-fed celebrity biopic will undoubtedly be flabbergasted upon encountering the panoramic exploration of the famously enigmatic folkie "I'm Not There." In case you haven't heard about it from the press's buzzing echo chamber, this is the much-anticipated movie where six actors portray Bob Dylan. And yes, one is Cate Blanchett.
To clarify, the animal in focus is not the flesh-and-blood man born Robert Zimmerman, but Bob Dylan, the musician who seemingly took on several guises as his music ran the gamut of American song traditions and forged new ground for poetic introspection. The revolutionary spirit of the life and art of Dylan gives director Todd Haynes the wherewithal to drive a chisel to the biopic's core, fracturing and reassembling its pieces while tracing where its fissures lead.
Weaving through six stories that span different time frames and periods, the structure of "I'm Not There" doesn't break down Dylan's persona, but instead enlarges it across the vast arenas of history and pop culture. Each is led by a character who generally resembles either a literal Dylan or some variation of the historical icons he invoked as an alter ego. But, from the outset, the distinctions between Dylan and his forbearers are deliberately entwined.
Two characters resemble different versions of Dylan, neatly divided and sold to the public by historiography. A pensive Christian Bale plays the disappeared Jack Rollins, who mirrors Dylan during his phases of young idealism and middle-aged, born-again Christianity. Both periods are brought together in Rollins by their shared belief that music is a form of communion, whether it fires up social change or heals the soul.
Haynes frames the memory of Rollins in a where-is-he-now documentary that ironically commodifies the troubadour's conviction into cynical nostalgia. But all of the collected photographs and interviews fall short of pinpointing why Rollins stepped off the soapbox and faded from the
Anyone who comes to "the new Bob Dylan movie" expecting a spoon-fed celebrity biopic will undoubtedly be flabbergasted upon encountering the panoramic exploration of the famously enigmatic folkie "I'm Not There." In case you haven't heard about it from the press's buzzing echo chamber, this is the much-anticipated movie where six actors portray Bob Dylan. And yes, one is Cate Blanchett.
To clarify, the animal in focus is not the flesh-and-blood man born Robert Zimmerman, but Bob Dylan, the musician who seemingly took on several guises as his music ran the gamut of American song traditions and forged new ground for poetic introspection. The revolutionary spirit of the life and art of Dylan gives director Todd Haynes the wherewithal to drive a chisel to the biopic's core, fracturing and reassembling its pieces while tracing where its fissures lead.
Weaving through six stories that span different time frames and periods, the structure of "I'm Not There" doesn't break down Dylan's persona, but instead enlarges it across the vast arenas of history and pop culture. Each is led by a character who generally resembles either a literal Dylan or some variation of the historical icons he invoked as an alter ego. But, from the outset, the distinctions between Dylan and his forbearers are deliberately entwined.
Two characters resemble different versions of Dylan, neatly divided and sold to the public by historiography. A pensive Christian Bale plays the disappeared Jack Rollins, who mirrors Dylan during his phases of young idealism and middle-aged, born-again Christianity. Both periods are brought together in Rollins by their shared belief that music is a form of communion, whether it fires up social change or heals the soul.
Haynes frames the memory of Rollins in a where-is-he-now documentary that ironically commodifies the troubadour's conviction into cynical nostalgia. But all of the collected photographs and interviews fall short of pinpointing why Rollins stepped off the soapbox and faded from the
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