I saw “I’m Not There”, the new movie based on Bob Dylan. It depicts Dylan at six different periods of his life – each period is played by a new actor and character who is never really Bob Dylan. Confusing? Perfect.
Marcus Carl Franklin – Woody Guthrie/Bob Dylan
Cate Blanchett – Jude Quinn/Bob Dylan
Ben Whishaw – Arthur Rimbaud /Bob Dylan
Christian Bale – Jack Rollins/Bob Dylan
Heath Ledger – Robbie Clark/Bob Dylan
Richard Gere – Billy the Kid/Bob Dylan
Its not confusing, but rather complex – much like I believe Dylan to be. The ability to change your persona I think is something we’d all like to do – celebrities the most. Sometimes its the only escape – to go against what you had been doing before. With that in mind – the “Dylan goes electric” scene was amazing. The stand out performance for me was Cate Blanchett (and not just because she’s a woman playing a man). After watching a few scenes I even forgot she was a woman and really began to see her as Dylan.
People say I look like Blanchett…does that mean if I put on a crazy brown wig and sunglasses that I would look like Dylan…possibly. Heath Ledger’s performance was the most un-Dylan-esque – but he is still really really good looking and a great actor.
I have been exposed to Dylan all my life pretty much. My father loves him. Every morning we’d be awoken to Dylan records and my father singing. I think I learned most of Slow Train Coming that way. So here is my final thought about the movie.
I believe the movie stayed true to who Dylan is and as what people make him out to be. Although he is highly iconic and a legend, Dylan is elusive. And even after seeing this movie, one based on his life, he still remains a mystery to me – and I think he’d want it that way.
