moviereview - I'm Not There

I'M NOT THERE

	Out in Sydney's west, a young man is juggling an overwhelming mother, a disabled brother, his new girlfriend and the horrors of virginity.	score 3+	moviereview rates films from 1 (unwatchable) to 5 (unmissable)
			FIND A MOVIEREVIEW

Cast
Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Ben Whishaw, Marcus Carl Franklin

Director
Todd Haynes

Screenwriter
Todd Haynes
Oren Moverman

Country
USA

Rating / Running Time
MA / 135 minutes

Australian Release
December 2007

Official Site

Himself a part-time iconoclast, Todd Haynes has turned his lens on one of the greatest iconoclasts of the 20th century. In a sweeping, often bewildering epic, he seeks to present and interpret the music and many lives of Bob Dylan. Meet the protestor, the dreamer, the preacher, the entertainer, the addict, the bewildered. Each with a unique voice, indeed, a unique character, he’s played by six different actors as Haynes seeks a little truth about the man, his era and his country.

In mixing timelines and periods, colour with black and white, men with children and women, I’m Not There becomes a challenging and provocative take on the biopic. Forget the usual histrionics and performance of the genre – this has as much in common with Ray as might Solaris with Star Trek. He applies a cubist approach and invites us to view the subject through a shattered prism. View as it’s difficult to engage with most of the characters populating this film. Nearly all of the Dylan’s are remote, churlish echoes of people who hide around the edges, ghostly inhabitants of the story despite occupying the middle frame. Connecting with Haynes beyond the intellectual is always testing, and the maverick director does little to make this any easier. As one of the Dylans points out, it’s like having yesterday, today and tomorrow all in one room.

While lacking a narrative spine, there is an urgency about the interconnected nature of these vignettes that forces engagement. Much of it is derived from some outstanding performances, Cate Blanchett foremost among them. Hers is an utterly mesmerising turn that bewitches the camera. Bruce Greenwood as an arts critic who assaults her integrity is calmly impressive. Although a misguided leap into the west all but derails the film, and where would Haynes be without such leaps, I’m Not There will keep the fan-base dissecting long into the night.

// COLIN FRASER