Todd Haynes' I'm Not There safely subscribes to the most broad definition of a musical biopic as in the film features filmed renditions of some Bob Dylan songs incorporated into the main narrative, and also subscribes to the salient aspects of a biopic as in it charts Bob Dylan's career and life from humble beginnings to his dramatic rise as the definitive voice of an era. Now that the film has neatly placed itself within a popular genre it shoots off on a rambling, elliptical and ultimately rewarding trajectory.
The film claims to be based on the music and many lives of Bob Dylan who has been one of the most mercurial artists in the second half of the 20th century. It always felt unfair to confining his talents within the parameters of popular music. His influence has trickled down to mass consciousness and yet Dylan, characteristic of anyone who has ever been labeled as the voice of a generation, has been reluctant in expressing himself and telling us what his work and words mean. His words have always had the rare simplicity that defies any general explanation.
I'm Not There is a work of daring and imagination. Haynes rounds up six different actors of diverse age, color and gender backgrounds to play one singular character or more likely the variants of Bob Dylan at different times of his career. Woody Gutherie (Marcus Carl Franklin) is the 11 year old black kid who is a musical prodigy and has tall tales to tell to match his talent. The timeline he occupies is 1959 yet in his mind he lives in the depression era and as the name implied already, an avid disciple of folk singer Woody Gutherie. Jack Rollins (Christian Bale) is an up and coming folk singer whose simple homespun songs and honest, poignant lyrics have made him a public figure. He goes in hiding for the next ten years only to return as a born again Christian and using his talents for the Lord's service. Arthur Rimbaud (Ben Winshaw) is an articulate verbose poet who sits in front of an interviewing tribunal. Robbie Clark (Heath Ledger) is a movie star who shot to fame portraying Jack Rollins, whose domestic life is falling apart and after years of high headed success he feels he will miss the domesticity. Jude Quinn (Cate Blanchett) is a one time highly revered folk singer who betrayed his core audiences by going "electric" and finds his time in London dodging and confronting accusations at his ever strung out self. And finally there is Billy the Kid (Richard Gere) an aging cowboy in a hybrid Old West town where giraffes and ostriches roam free.
Some of the Dylan variants are easy to connect, the progression of Woody Gutherie to Jack Rollins leading to Jude Quinn, punctuated by the occasional Rimbaud clips. Bob Dylan was never a movie star like Robbie Clark but that may be a nod at his celebrity status in the 60s and his matrimonial account clearly influences the film star story. Todd Haynes in his own words has attempted to deconstruct the myth of Bob Dylan and so in so he has succeeded by not offering us a conventional chronological account of the man or his different lives. I'm Not There is a meticulously constructed mosaic made up of interwoven strands of the idea and music of Bob Dylan.
Being a musical that it is, I'm Not There is a richly rewarding visual experience as well. The film seamlessly intercuts between one Dylan variant to the other and one gold toned color scene to another grainy black and white one. Each Dylan strand filmed has its own distinct look. The Woodie Gutherie scenes are washed in honey gold sepia, most of the Arthur Rimbaud press conference is filmed in a grainy black and white static shot. Hanyes recreates vintage documentary feel for the Jack Rollins scenes intercut with the obligatory talking heads that are part and parcel of profile documentaries. Vietnam War channeled through TV in people's homes take up most of the space in the Robbie Clark story. The centerpiece of the film, the now bravura performance by Cate Blanchett is filmed in crystal black and white with tracking shots reminiscent of Fellini and other corners of the frame borrowed from Richard Lester films. The Billy the Kid scenes that bookend the film have the same visual resonance as the Woody Gutherie scenes and I personally can't think of any other reason for the inclusion of this particular strand as to give the film's structure some kind of battered symmetry.
It would help to know the most basic rudimentary of your Dylan before you see this film for it illuminates certain passages of the film, otherwise the music is great and performances are stand out through with Cate Blanchett standing head and shoulders above her peers.
No comments:
Post a Comment