Brianland

I’m Not There — film review

“Life is a crazy, dark circus.”

FANTASTIC, inspired filmmaking.  (I gotta look for more Todd Haynes.)  Maybe I was super-well prepared for it by this late date, but as it was, I could easily follow it, and it painted a brilliant million-dollar-picture.

Obviously the unsuspecting could be caught off guard by the allegory and non-linear storyline, and I can see how it might come across as not entertaining for non Dylan fans — but for those familiar with this major artist’s life and work, it’s full of humor and impeccable detail in scene recreations (which are then played with), all mixed in with archival footage of Greenwich Village and such — especially the dustbowl Hattie Carroll, and all the Don’t Look Back reenactments! 🙂 . . . the press conference, the hotel rooms, the encounter with the Duchess, and the overly analytical fan!

I just LOVED the script!  How it skipped around in time, but still flowingly told a chronological story.  It was like a merge between Bob’s books Tarantula and Chronicles — poetically licensed autobiography (see, also: Kerouac, Jack).

And nobody seems to talk much about the editing, but it’s Brilliant!  And the sound editing, and cinematography.

It was a lot like Masked & Anonymous — both very surreal musical dramedies starring Another Side of Bob Dylan — both with similar wonderful soundtracks of original Bob mixed with other’s versions — and both featuring a calliope of strange characters, and with a black child singing and stealing the show.
And B), it’s a helluva lot like Renaldo & Clara in many of the same ways. Life is a crazy, dark circus.

This is the kind of movie, like a great CD, that you could just put on at a party and let it play in the background — a series of music & words with images, called “scenes” instead of “songs” — you can dip in and out anytime, for as long as you want, then go back to your conversation.  🙂  With all the Bob-inspired dialog and songs woven together it’s like a Dylan musical for two hours.

And how ‘bout that hilarious scene at the cross on the hill with Ginsberg & Bob yelling up at it!  “Why don’t you do your early stuff?!”

Or that sweet Hitchcockian overhead B&W slow zoom-in of Dylan writing Tarantula with all the pictures surrounding him on the floor.

Or the scene in the car after the great, “That was Allen Ginsberg, man!” –> into the battle between Bob and the reporter –>  into that epic Ballad of a Thin Man!! Sick!

And do not miss the continuous-take soliloquy Cate Blanchett delivers in the car at end.  The lighting, the window reflections, the final wicked sly smile to the camera … that‘s what filmmaking is all about.  And not fer nuthin but — Cate Blanchett is the living actress I’m most blown away by performance-after-performance.

And the whole thing interspersed with a Spinal Tap mockumentary vibe  🙂  woven into Don’t Look Back and a nature documentary about a grizzled Grizzly Adams Gere living in the woods!  Great poetic storytelling.

I loved every one of the Dylan actors’ performances — Cate Blanchett (of course), the black kid (Marcus Carl Franklin), Heath Ledger, Bale, Gere, and even the 19 yr old in B&W at the table, Ben Winshaw.  And how cool about Richie Havens playing the soulful father figure?!  Or David Cross as Allen Ginsberg!  And his partner mother-figure telling the young boy, “Write about your own time.”

It was realistically surreal — like Terry Gilliam might capture it, or van Gogh, or Lewis Carroll, or Alvin Ailey.  It’s crazy, it’s distorted, but it’s real.

All around, a playful joyous complex poetic work of art befitting its subject.

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oh, and I noticed in the Special Thanks at the end: Neil Young! :-), Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), and Ramblin’ Jack. 🙂

And that it was mostly shot in Montreal!  Beauty, eh!

and — A Grate Family Friendly Film Tip — watch Masked & Anonymous RIGHT after this —
the greatest One-Two, Blow-Off-My-Shoe
Bob Brain-blast Double-Feature Ever!
Bake the brownies in advance.

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Here’s more Bob — when he played the Kool small venue show in Toronto.

Or here’s where he came out and joined Bruce at Shea Stadium.

Or here’s a review of another funny-cool twisted movie — My Dinner With Jimi.

Or here’s from the London premiere of On The Road in the courtyard of Somerset House.

And here was the world premiere of the new shorter version of On The Road at the Toronto Film Festival.

Or here’s some other funny off-Beat movies about the Merry Pranksters and The Beats.

Or here’s an overview of all the Beat movie dramatizations ever filmed.

Or here’s a review of the lost footage of the historic roc n roll train trip that was finally released as Festival Express, starring the Grateful Dead, The Band and Janis Joplin.

Or here’s the Scorsese’s Rolling Stones concert film — Shine A Light.

Or here’s a fairly unknown but perfectly offbeat comedy — Lucky Numbers — with a comedic Travolta, Lisa Kudrow, Tim Roth, Michael Rapaport, Richard Schiff, Michael Moore and many others.

Or here’s a bunch of films I reviewed on IMDB.

Or here’s a master list of Brian’s Hot 200 movies including all sorts of cinematic riffs and tips. 

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by Brian Hassett            karmacoupon@gmail.com                    brianhassett.com