I'm Not There

I'm Not There

70% Liked It
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I'm Not There

Ben Whishaw, Cate Blanchett, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Christian Bale, Heath Ledger

Since arriving in New York City’s folk music scene in the 1960s, American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan has become a major figure in popular music, influencing millions with his chart topping songs. His...( read more  read more... ) records have earned Grammy, Golden Globe, and Academy Awards, and he has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame. This film is ruminations on the life of Bob Dylan, where seven characters embody a different aspect of the musician's life and work.

Id: 10888342

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Recent Reviews


  • December 5, 2009
    A bold, batshit film, and a perfect way to illustrate a man's life while barely discussing it at all. I don't know anything about Bob Dylan, but seeing all of these unusual stories, and unable to discern what was fact and what was Todd Haynes' imagination, I really felt like I un...( read more)derstood the image that Dylan tries to portray and all of its connotations. What I liked most about I'm Not There was its unconventional portrayal of a person trying to remain enigmatic, and ultimately failing, in the face of enormous fame. Cate Blanchett's section, where she channels a main who deliberately presents himself as obtusely and infuriatingly as possible, reinforces this theme especially well. Even better is how well it folds into Heath Ledger's chapter, where we get a portrait of a man clearly drunk on his own fame and admittedly unique talents, a bullish intellectual with a clear-headed foil near him to see how wrong he truly is (Charlotte Gainsbourg, my 2009 MVP and giving a surprisingly stunning performance here). In fact, all of the sections of the film are intertwined in creative and subtle ways, creating not so much a linear biography, but an imagined cross-section that attempts to delve into a mysterious brain. This is the movie La Vie En Rose wishes it could be. The cast is uniformly on-point here, although some parts of the movie don't quite work as well as others. It may be my disdain for Richard Gere speaking, but the end of the film just doesn't do it for me, despite the nihilism and seclusion generally fitting well with everything that follows in this fantasy parade. I think this is a great experiment that anyone could get on board with, provided they have the patience to think about WHY it has been assembled; it's, more than a lot of movies, like a puzzle, a collection of totally senseless pieces coming together in unusual ways to form a coherent composite. Recommended for anyone, but especially to Dylan fans.
  • October 24, 2009
    I'd have enjoyed it more if I knew anything about Bob Dylan. I loved the approach to this film, and the meaning behind it. Unfortunately it was far too long and drawn out, and after a while I felt like I was watching a David Lynch movie. Cate Blanchett did a steller job playin...( read more)g a man.
  • October 1, 2009
    I like a bit of Bob Dylan now and again but my lack of knowledge on the singer, or should I say, due to the fact I'm not completely obsessed by the man, I found this film a little hard to follow at times. That's said, the direction and performances were fantastic. I liked the con...( read more)cept too but it?s not original, it was executed in a much better way in a film called Palindromes, which is a much better film.
  • June 26, 2009
    This film was a brave attempt, but it easily causes confusion. It?s very arty in it?s interpretation, which works well if you have an understanding of that interpretation from the beginning, otherwise you will find yourself lost throughout the film.

    Ironically none of the Act...( read more)ors used looked like Dylan (as it seems was intentional) apart from Cate Blanchett, who at times did resemble the iconic star and was without doubt the best version.

    What bothers me is as a fan of Bob Dylan is that I found the film was more about the film style than Dylan itself, which pleased me as a film fan, but not a Dylan fan. Also the film isn't particularly revealing in a conventional sense. I believe the different sides of Dylan came across well, but with a loss of content somehow, I hardly know anything more about Dylan than before I watched the film. It almost seems like a working progress.
  • March 11, 2009
    I'm Not There is the biography of Bob Dylan. And it isn't. Now you're probably wondering what in the hell I'm talking about, so let me explain. The film takes segments of Dylan's life and rewrites them into little stories that are related to each other... and not. Writer/director...( read more) Todd Haynes gives us a film that isn't your typical music bio-pic, but something that's just as much of an enigma as Bob Dylan himself is.In this case six Bobs are better than one and with the cast that's playing Dylan(s) you can't really go wrong with this flick.
  • December 11, 2009
    I hardly know anything more about Dylan than before I watched the film, as the film was more about the film-style than Dylan itself. Altogether, this was a brave attempt, but it easily causes confusion.
  • November 24, 2009
    Wow..Is there anything that Cate Blanchett can't do?Such a great performance, she interpreter Bob Dylan like no one could ever do.I also loved the fact of this multiply personality ,every one of them was impressive and showed a different aspect of his character.
  • November 18, 2009
    Painfull. Seriously I tryed 4 or 5 time from rent to movie tv networks. English and French. Never finish it. It was painfull. And i see that everyone love it. I just don't and i don't even know why.
  • November 11, 2009
    Best Art Direction 2007
  • November 9, 2009
    A real task to get through as arguably, nothing ever happens but it is rewarding. The performances are refreshing and fantastic especially Cate Blanchett and Heath Ledger in one of his last roles.

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