User Reviews

The rhythmic machinery of a fractured identity: A 4.0-star "sensational" surge of intellectual rebellion.2011 (4.0)I watched "I’m Not There" (2007) in 2011, and it delivered a visceral "revelation" that earned a sophisticated 4.0-star record in my archive—a high-tension exploration of how "human distrust" and fame can dismantle a single soul into multiple "vivid" personas. This experience **** the fourth wall of the biographical genre by infusing Todd Haynes’ "stagnant" historical subject with a rebellious and rhythmic energy that felt 100% poetic and non-linear. The narrative rhythm was far from "stagnant"; instead, it offered a "chewy" and sophisticated journey through the "pathetic" expectations of the public versus the "raw" truth of the artist, leaving me in a state of absolute "hororong" as Cate Blanchett’s Jude Quinn confronted the absurdity of celebrity. Seeing the "vivid" evolution of Bob Dylan through six different archetypes provided an emotional payoff that felt both "raw" and hauntingly "sensational," mirroring the high-tension precision of my most cherished psychological puzzles. The 95% preservation of my memory is dominated by the rhythmic, "raw" surrealism of the black-and-white segments and the high-tension, "vivid" folk-rock soundtrack, creating a permanent, "sensational" scar of artistic complexity on my soul. Unlike the "stagnant" 1.0-star marathon of "Gandhi," this theatrical encounter possessed a rebellious and "vivid" soul that exposed the "pathetic" futility of trying to pin down a legend. It stands in my 2011 record as a powerful 4.0-star testament to the "raw" power of cinematic abstraction—a "vivid" encounter with the "sensational" rhythm of identity that remains one of the most intellectually "chewy" artifacts of my cinematic journey.

Possibly the most experimental biopic ever made, I'm Not There is the perfect way to capture the life, myth, and legend of Bob Dylan, Todd Haynes achieves something extraordinary here, presenting different phases of Dylan's life through distinct narratives, each with its own unique tone and style, the bold choice of casting multiple actors to embody Dylan's many personas pays off brilliantly, with each performance adding depth to the film portrayal of his ever-evolving identity, Cate Blanchett, surprisingly the only female in the role and perhaps the most unlikely choice, delivers the most striking performance, perfectly embodying Dylan at arguably his most iconic era, the film is captivating from start to finish, driven by its creativity and unique approach, while not without minor flaws, I'm Not There is a remarkable and fitting tribute to an artist who has constantly redefined himself and his music.

Let's start at the beginning: I'm not a fan of Bob Dylan, nor have I ever wasted much time listening to his music. Despite this, I recognize the impact he had on music and the strength of many of his songs, later used and visited by other musicians. So much of this movie tells me very little. Still, I decided to see him, convinced by the number of notables involved. What this film does is basically tell stories alluding to the singer's life, personifying in fictional characters several aspects of his life and career. It's an innovative, brilliant idea, but I think it was poorly executed: the film is excessively long and slow, and if I didn't know the subject and had read something about the film beforehand, I would have a hard time understanding the narrative. This is intensified by the temporal and spatial leaps in the plot, which make it even more difficult to understand. Some plot segments didn't turn out as interesting or well-developed either. The cast is quite good, particularly Cate Blanchett. She gives us the best performance in the movie, and it's worth seeing the movie just to see how she untangles herself from the role in her hands. Christian Bale and Heath Ledger are also very good and Marcus Carl Franklin was able to surprise, in a work more mature than his age would suggest. Julianne Moore also looked pretty good to me, but she has little to add. Less interesting, the works of Richard Gere, Ben Whishaw and Charlotte Gainsbourg seem too raw and undeveloped. The rest, I confess, did not attract my attention in the least. Technically, the movie is a mess. Editing and editing seem lost in a maze of script pieces. The cinematography is excellent, as are the sets and different costumes used. There is no doubt that an effort was made to make the film artistically beautiful, and that was a very successful effort. The soundtrack features several Dylan songs, something that seems mandatory since the film was about him.

A true masterpiece. Todd Haynes is a great filmmaker and he clearly understands Bob Dylan and his music which is the biggest reason this unconventional biopic works. This is the greatest movie about Bob Dylan we will ever get. It's perfect. The whole cast is amazing, especially Cate Blanchette. And the sountrack is obviously amazing as well. This will always be in my top 5. If you don't understand Bob Dylan, you will not understand this movie. It's complex, intelligent and creative like no other biopic.

god rest his soul and his rudeness.. I'm Not There It is difficult to pull off a tale with multiple characters with various; someway interconnected, tale that is set in a poignant tone and still hold the audience for more than 2 hours even though it fails to connect with them easily. Todd Haynes; the writer-director, and Oren Moverman; the screenwriter's, script comes with a lot of instructions and requirement that is almost fulfilled while depicting it on screen but some of it feels missing too, in the end. On performance level, the feature scores majestically with the help of Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger and Richard Gere. I'm Not There is a musical but not your typical one, it may comes off as cathartic in the end after surviving this empirical world of Todd Haynes in an overlong script that raises question whether it is worth it or not.

I've never been a fan of Bob Dylan, yet of course I know he has great albums and great songs but what I'm used to listen from him is minimal but obviously his legacy is huge, so undeniably making a film about him was going to be a big and difficult task and it could have ended up in disaster. I'm Not There is not a film that has broken any quality barrier but its approach to Dylan was quite attractive and delightful. His great cast, in which Cate Blanchett stands out, exposes a different way of knowing the artist and although not everyone may have enjoyed that sort of approach, in general I think that for any true movie lover and music lovers alike they should see it at least once.

A curious imagination of six various Bob Dylan personalities, I'm Not There listens to the music, the story and the man. With re-created versions of Dylan songs by many of today's gifted musicians, you won't be disappointed. Also, worth tuning in simply for Cate Blanchett's take on Dylan a.k.a. Jude Quinn.

It's got plenty of standout performances, such as like Cate Blanchett's utterly uncanny turn as "Jude Quinn," but "I'm Not There" is way too ambitious interpretive, oblique, and abstract to be construed as a coherent biography.

First things first; this is most definitely an 'art movie' and yes, it's pretty long. However if you have the ability to maintain your attention, this an enjoyable watch. It's pretty for one thing. And really very smart. I can't say I understood every detail. But the approach to the biography is well done. Bob Dylan is complex character (aren't we all?) who has had an extraordinary life. So we see a fragmented reality, each character an stand-in for different sides of the whole person, the truth residing somewhere within. The clue is in the title. A great soundtrack too ('natch')

Let me preface my review by saying I'm a huge Bob Dylan fan. Love his music. Love his book. Love his style. He is iconic. I don't feel like this movie really captured Bob's spirit. I was really bored by it to be honest. It was creative, and I thought that Cate Blanchett totally knocked the ball out of the park, but it was just a drag to watch. They should have made a movie where Cate Blanchett played Bob for its entirety. The soundtrack is great, and I give the film points for Blanchett's stunning performance. The other actors weren't necessarily bad, they just didn't really speak to me as a Dylan fan . . .

A brilliant and original idea for a biopic. The 6 different arms of Dylans personality have their part to play, especially Cate Blanchett who proves herself to be a diverse and complete actress. How she manages to capture that druggy and care free spirit of the 60's like nobody else before her. Richard Gere dissapointed me slightly and was the least memorable of the 6 but Marcus Carl Franklin was a complete shock as 'Woody Guthrie' who is pursuing his dream to become a singer. Todd Haynes did a great job to get the rights to Dylans music let alone produce a movie as innovative as this.

The many faces & phases of Bob Dylan. It's painfully pretentious, gruellingly long & quite disjointed. It's saving graces, however, are great performances by Heath Ledger & Cate Blanchett & of course the fantastic music. The film though just didn't work for me at all.

If there was was ever a film that could embody Bob Dylan, this is it, and that being said it is no means a biography. Rather than trying to encapsulate Dylan's life in any serial fashion, Todd Haynes opts to intersperse the different incarnations of the singer in both his music and personal life, imbuing surrealism and pure fiction to explain the chaos of his life. That being said, I wouldn't recommend this movie to people who aren't familiar with Bob Dylan or the musical movements of the 1960s-1970s; references like Pete Seeger trying to chop the electric cables with an axe at the Newport Folk Festival or tongue-in-cheek humor such as Dylan shouting at Jesus on the cross to "bring back your old stuff" would definitely go over most people's heads without any background.