I'm Not ThereIt 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.

Todd Haynes has delivered his best film to date about the multiple facets of living legend musician, poet, and writer, Bob Dylan. While Dylan has been awarded the Kennedy Center Honors, this film is quite a tribute to the man's legacy and his role forever in the world and not just America. For most of us, Bob Dylan is a songwriter and musician but also philosopher, poet, and activist. His music inspired people and still does. The film is a mixture of six characters including an African American child Marcus Carl Franklin who played Woody in the 1950s. There is Cate Blanchett's well-deserved Oscar nomination for supporting actress as Jude Quinn in the mid-60s in England where the song, "Mr. Jones," comes into play. Bruce Greenwood played the inspirational role of a British television journalist. There is Richard Gere in the 1800s small town with his dog, Henry. There is Ben Whishaw who is not used enough in the film. Of course, the late Heath Ledger played a significant role opposite French actress, Charlotte Gainsbourg. Michelle Williams played Coco, an actress, as well. This film is perfect casting. The writing might need more tweaking and the ending was confusing but the originality is what I'll take away from it. This film is a perfect tribute to Bob Dylan.

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.

This is my first exposure to Todd Haynes, who I understand is almost always taking this artistic of an approach to his material. There are, in fact, several different film-making styles utilized here; one for each narrative. I honestly don't know an awful lot about Dylan, and I think that you have to, in order to fully appreciate this(in any event, you should realize that this is not, nor was it intended to be, a bio-pic). Yes, there are six actors portraying him, and yes, one is a woman and another is an African-American kid(his performance is excellent... in fact, all of them are, not just this half a dozen of them). From what I do know about the man, they adopt traits of his, and are rather well-cast. They represent his many "lives"; the FAQ explains them immensely well. This certainly is an interesting piece, and offers food for thought. It is philosophical at times. The dialog is well-written and delivered nicely. From a technical standpoint, this is marvelous; the editing and cinematography are skillful. Meanwhile, this will still alienate those expecting a mainstream treatment of the man's life, akin to Ray or Walk the Line. There is infrequent strong language, a little violence and disturbing content as well as brief nudity(male and female) and sexuality in this. The DVD comes with 24 minutes of extended scenes, a funny 4 minute gag reel, a 3 minute Heath tribute and a trailer for this and one for Forbidden Kingdom. I recommend this to fans of the singer, and those who enjoy the medium on other levels than that of presenting entertainment, or a straightforward story. 8/10