Review of I'm Not There (2007) by Jason H — 06 Mar 2010

Who is Bob Dylan? Rather than answering this question, "I'm Not There" prefers to ask it, over and over again. It provides no definite answer, only conjectures about a personal, mysterious man mythologized by a society desperate to define an undefinable person.

Most biopics use cheap psychology to simplify their subject's motivations and craft a predictably uplifting message of perseverance in the face of adversity. Ray, Walk the Line, Ali, Man on the Moon, and The Hurricane are fine films that tell captivating stories, but their characters and chronologies are stretched and molded to fit our own expectations of who someone is or should be.

They would have you believe that everyone's life falls into the three acts of rise, fall, and redemption. Dylan has spent his entire career avoiding the pigeonhole so it's only right that this expressionistic exploration doesn't put him in one.

They don't even use his name. To do so would be dishonest because "I'm Not There" is more about the idea of Dylan than it is about the man. The six actors we see portraying the Dylan characters on screen represent the various roles he has played in his life - the student, the fresh voice of a generation, the husband, the icon, the evangelical, the isolationist.

He's old and young, male and female, black and white, cynical and optimistic. He's everyone, he's no one. Putting your finger on such a kaleidoscopic man is fruitless, especially when his public persona may or may not reflect his actual life.

At one point, Cate Blanchett's Jude tells a critic, "I know more about you than you will ever know about me," which is proven by the way Dylan can pen songs that connect with millions of people, yet nobody understands what makes the man tick.

Screenwriter and director Todd Haynes doesn't purport to know either, preferring to focus on his cultural impact rather than his life events and motivations. The one literal element of "I'm Not There" is the music, which is appropriate since it's the only aspect of Dylan that has regularly been shared, the only part of him we know to be true.

"I'm Not There" is a bold, refreshing vision.