Review of I'm Not There (2007) by Harpreet S — 22 May 2012

I am scarcely familiar with Bob Dylan, except for few of his wonderful songs. Todd Haynes' "I'm Not There" sheds little light in actually understanding the kind of person Dylan is. I am not stating that I intended to learn about him by watching this film, to be honest I did not really know what to expect.

Six actors play different sides of Bob Dylan, which includes the female Cate Blanchett, who delivers the best performance. There is a short, hilarious, but charming scene in a fantasy involving Blanchett as Dylan fooling around with the Beatles, as if they were children in the garden, that being my favorite part of the movie.

There were other scenes I admired, however as a whole, I fail to understand it or even be terribly fascinated. Either I missed the meaning behind it or the collage structured stories were meant to be a mystery, thus suggesting the personality of Dylan himself.

It could have been a bit shorter also; at times I became frustrated, because I could not comprehend it. I have seen enough films where the form is complex, but in this picture I could not find a connection in its ramblings.

The film's major strength is its music; I discovered some more songs of Dylan, songs to cherish for a lifetime! I was stupid and lazy to not extensively search and appreciate his music. Overall, "I'm Not There" is a quality picture, but maybe the director could have found another way to illustrate his ideas or I simply did not get it.