I'm Not There

Posted by Campbell at Saturday, November 24, 2007

Todd Haynes doing a Dylan biopic did not sound like a great idea to me. For one, I'm not a big fan of Haynes at all. Although critically adored, I thought "Far From Heaven" was absolutely dreadful. "Safe" was pretty good, but to my eyes, that was about all that he'd done worth anything.

I suppose there are many angles and approaches to Dylan, but two of the greatest rock n' roll movies ever done were about him ("Don't Look Back" and "No Direction Home"). This only added to my feelings that this was likely going to be a bomb.

Nope. This movie moved me on so many levels. First off, the music is fantastic, mixing Bob's recordings with new takes by many of today's most important artists. And then there were the stories. The Woody Guthrie/Dylan character was wonderful. The porch scene with little Bob, Richie Havens and another fella doing "Tombstone Blues" sent shivers up and down my spine. The scene with Bob doing "Pressing On" (sung by John Doe) was another moment that elicited chills. I loved Richard Gere's little story. And Cate Blanchett playing a disgruntled Dylan and shedding light on that side of Bob that intrigues many of us the most: who he is/was, what drives him, how he explains it all, even when he's explaining nothing.

I saw "No Country For Old Men" on Friday and walked out disappointed. I caught "I'm Not There" Saturday night and I've spent most of the day today listening to Dylan, especially this fantastic soundtrack.

There is so much depth to this movie. I need to see it again. And again. "I'm Not There" - the best movie I've seen in 2007.