Make way for a mega failure from the Weinstein company - written and directed by queer movie maker Todd Haynes. This mish-mash looks like a film school finalist effort and will please those very audience members who demand an unconventional (at any cost to the end result) approach to movie making. Film Festivals and academies will also be taken in by its pseudo academia and won't see the forest from the trees! Haynes also gives a nod to his own gender bending by casting a woman to play one of the many characters who make up the supposed Dylan interpretations. Here we have Blanchet camping it up to please the critics and 'certain' types of fans, etc. If this convoluted work is an homage to Dylan, then it's an unflattering one, if it's true to Dylan's personal attitudes then it shows him to be little more than a commercially marketed product. His latter conversion to Christianity and leaving his old persona behind is presented in a very bland way indeed - probably reflecting Haynes thoughts on the matter (in fact this whole exercise could be more about Haynes than Bob?). The Richard Gere cowboy character seems to be from another story altogether and largely offers only symbolic connection to Dylan - this is probably the most interesting as well as the least successful of the piece. Some will love this over indulged tosh, others, as the box-office returns clearly show, will certainly not. For small specialist audiences only.

Where to start here? I'm Not There is a very daunting, serious, far- fetching, high;y intellectual, brainy and at the same time, painful, awkward, clumsy, weird and sometimes sick movie with elements of great and gross, high and haughty, likable and lecherous, sweet and sick, fine and foolish. It reminded me heavily of Oliver Stone's Nixon, with its spiraling, non-linear, crazy pace, feedback, change of colors, abrupt jumps, foreshadowing, unexpected twists and all the same. Is this movie any good? Yes, it is. The performances of multitude of actors are all spellbinding and breathtaking - Marcus Carl Franklin, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw,Charlotte Gainsbourg , David Cross, Eugene Brotto, Bruce Greenwood, Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, Mark Camacho, Benz Antoine , Craig Thomas, Richie Havens, Kim Roberts, Kris Kristofferson, Don Francks, Vito DeFilippo and Susan Glover, Paul Spence - an amazing array of huge talents and powerful bandwagon of artistry. Music is excellent throughout, too - the original Dylan's songs as well as new tracks are just superb. What is also good here - excellent play of allusions to Dylan's life - Newport fest, Judas shout, family problems, The Beatles, drugs, poetry, Tarantula, many other things are thrilling and a real eye- feast for Dylan fans. What is bad? Uneven pace, some mannerisms, some really vapid moments, some unnecessary longer monologues, some utterly silly moments at all - they spoil the party much. But still, even 2 hours are not long here and the movie flows almost (almost) seamlessly. Pity, it was not cut to a closer perfection. But, it is very hard to make a decent biopic. I do recommend this to Dylan buffs, to folk rock fans... the rest? Maybe, not. Todd Haynes has made a great work, but not all are ready to see Dylan played by a woman.

I must admit that I approached this film with low expectations after having read several negative reviews before actually seeing the DVD. The comments, for the most part, were as follows : "the movie made no sense", "it looked like it was made by high school film students trying to be artsy", "it wasn't an accurate depiction of Dylan at all", and finally "it was too long and too disjointed". I disagree with all of those comments/assessments.I found the movie to be interesting, creative, and engaging. And I'm not really even a big Dylan fan. But that notwithstanding, he's an interesting, complex individual who has had an enormous impact on not only the music industry, but the world at large.And even taking Dylan totally out of the picture, I feel that the movie worked because of the way it accurately depicted the struggles of ANY creative personality when it comes to the conflicts and contrasts between the public and the private individual. I also feel that the movie accurately depicted the struggles any creative personality has trying to maintain his or her integrity once popularity -- and the attendant commercialism that goes with popularity -- kicks in. The aspect of how fans both support, and to a certain extent control an artist was also poignantly addressed.For me, the most moving elements of the film involved the relationship between Robbie and Claire. I also was very impressed with Cate Blanchett's portrayal of Jude. The character that I found to be the least sympathetic (and/or the most disjointed) was Billy. But it was such a minor part that it wasn't enough for me to trash the film the way the other heavy critics did. I also found the soundtrack to be the glue as well as the engine that propelled the movie right along.Maybe the most amazing thing about the whole film is the fact that Dylan SURVIVED, and is still a dynamic, vibrant force -- 45 years after his huge impact on the music scene and the world. Love him or hate him -- he has endured the test of time, and in true Sinatra fashion, he clearly did it his way.

The films idea is pretty solid. Dylan has so many sides to him that he is round. A blues musician said that about him in 1964. Sadly, the execution of the concept fails. And the writing is equally as bad. Perhaps some of you enjoyed the movie but I saw it as a complete failure. The feeling I was left with after the film made me dislike Dylan...even though he's been my inspiration for so many years. I've read over twenty biographies of him as well as his his own 'Chronicles Vol. 1' and nothing within the film demonstrates what he contributed to music. The actors did a fairly good job with what they had. The writing is so far off and only distracts from the real story. The concept was good but the directing falls short and doesn't stand out in any way. If you are at all interested in Dylan and his art, watch 'Don't Look Back' or 'Renaldo and Clara'. The latter is a bit zany but shows a real side to Dylan and his friends.