I'm Not There (2007)
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Six different actors portray various facets of Bob Dylan's public persona in this experimental biographical film.
The story
I'm Not There features a nonlinear narrative, shifting between six characters in separate storylines inspired by the music and many lives of Bob Dylan. Each character represents a different facet of Dylan's public persona: poet (Arthur Rimbaud), prophet (Jack Rollins/Father John), outlaw (Billy McCarty), fake (Woody Guthrie), "rock and roll martyr" (Jude Quinn), and "star of electricity" (Robbie Clark). The film dramatizes the life and music of Bob Dylan as a series of shifting personae, with six identities braided together as organs pumping through one life story.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The film follows a nonlinear narrative depicting six characters representing different facets of Bob Dylan's life. Arthur Rimbaud is a 19-year-old questioned by interrogators. Woody Guthrie is a 12-year-old African-American boy riding the rails in 1959 who eventually visits the real Woody Guthrie in a hospital. Jack Rollins is a folk musician who becomes a star in the early 1960s before turning away from protest music to become a born-again Christian minister named Father John. Robbie Clark is an actor who plays Jack Rollins in a 1965 film and experiences a strained marriage with Claire. Jude Quinn is a popular folk singer who faces outrage for playing with an electric band, eventually collapsing into a coughing fit and later dying in a motorcycle accident. Billy McCarty is an outlaw living in hiding in Missouri who confronts his nemesis, Pat Garrett. The film concludes with footage of Dylan playing a harmonica solo during a live performance in 1966.
- First release year
- 2007
- Runtime (minutes)
- 135
- Production countries
- Germany; United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Todd Haynes
- Writers
- Todd Haynes · screenplay; Oren Moverman · screenplay; Todd Haynes · story
- Cast and characters
- Christian Bale · Jack Rollins / Pastor John; Cate Blanchett · Jude Quinn; Marcus Carl Franklin · Woody Guthrie; Richard Gere · Billy the Kid; Heath Ledger · Robbie Clark; Ben Whishaw · Arthur Rimbaud; Charlotte Gainsbourg · Claire Clark; David Cross · Allen Ginsberg
- Genres
- musical drama; biographical drama
- Themes
- identity; fame; religion; musical evolution
- Tone and mood
- experimental; unconventional; daring
- Premise and plot tags
- biographical; musical; nonlinear; collage
- Source material / true-story basis
- The life and music of Bob Dylan
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for its acting, directing, and musical score. It underperformed at the box office, grossing $11 million worldwide on the budget of $20 million.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 76% · review count: 161; Metacritic · score: 73 · scale: 100 · review count: 35
- Awards and nominations
- Volpi Cup · Best Actress · winner; Golden Globe Award · Best Supporting Actress · winner; Academy Award · Best Supporting Actress · nominee; Central Ohio Film Critics · Best Supporting Actress · winner; Chicago Film Critics · Best Supporting Actress · winner; New York Film Critics Online · Best Supporting Actress · winner; National Society of Film Critics · Best Supporting Actress · winner; Nilsson Awards for Film · Best Supporting Actress · winner; Robert Altman Award · Winner · winner
- Production trivia
- The film's title is taken from the 1967 Dylan Basement Tape recording of "I'm Not There".; A further Dylan-based character named Charlie, based on Charlie Chaplin, was dropped before filming began.; The film features a non-Dylan song, "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" by The Monkees.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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