The many faces of Bob Dylan are the subject of I’m Not There, the latest pseudo-intellectual exercise from Todd Haynes. Dylan’s various personas are inhabited by Heath Ledger, Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Christian Bale, Marcus Carl Franklin and Ben Winshaw, with Haynes distinguishing the segments by shooting in different styles and film stocks. Only a bio about a sacred cow like Dylan could ever get away with this degree of lionizing. I’m Not There becomes another boomer ode to the cultural supremacy of the 1960s. It’s interesting from a performance standpoint, but its meaning remains locked, shallowly, on its celebrity subject.
This article appears in Jan 17-23, 2008.