Comments on: I’m Not There

By: YogaforCynics

YogaforCynics — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 03:00:33 +0000

So, basically, the problem that you had with it was that it didn’t give you the conventional biopic you were hoping for? No doubt, you also have problems with your friends and family not fitting into clearly defined categories, and with your life not having a cohesive narrative. So, enjoy all of the other formulaic biopics out there, and leave this one alone.

By: Jack Meoff

Jack Meoff — Tue, 06 May 2008 04:20:20 +0000

This movies SUCKS!

By: Godzilla1960

Godzilla1960 — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 09:45:17 +0000

“I’m Not There” was, for me, the perfect way to tell a Bob Dylan story. Dylan has long railed against those who thought they could piece together a few facts from his life, some song lyrics, and a little pseudo-psychology and boil him down to an easy explanation – this is the “real” Bob Dylan. Who of us is that two dimensional? Certainly Dylan isn’t. Todd Haynes film allows us to see various sides of Dylan’s personality without simplifying the man for easy consumption and digestion. You leave feeling with both a better understanding of the greatest song writer of the modern age, as well the knowledge that there is still so much more to the man.

By: David Mansfield

David Mansfield — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 12:29:46 +0000

My shirt was purple, not pink, though it is pretty shiny

By: Mel

Mel — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 12:32:16 +0000

I tried to like this movie, because I am such a huge Dylan fan, but I didn’t feel like this movie said anything about Bob Dylan. It was the most cliche thing I have ever seen. Its almost like they watched No direction home– took the most obvious parts of it and had people OVER act it out. The interview parts of the lady that plays Joan Baez is the worst. This film speaks nothing of real life or real emotion. Bob Dylan isnt a mythical figure… He is a guy that wanted to play his songs.

By: Fuck you hypnotist collector

Fuck you hypnotist collector — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 08:43:51 +0000

Hypnotist collector you’re a fucking joke. So the reviewer only has a “superficial” appreciation for Dylan because they thought the movie sucked, which it does. It is a flaming piece of crap. It’s main theme is a completely fucking unoriginal idea.. oh there’s more than one bob dylan, GENIUS! To top it off the scrip is terrible and so is the acting. This has nothing to due with it being abstract etc. It’s just a bad representation of Dylan. This will sound immature but it pisses me off that people even like this

By: Greg

Greg — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 07:16:21 +0000

I haven’t seen the movie, but Jocelyn’s criticism of it does register with me. “Masked and Anonymous” was a similar, non-linear, surreal project–yet I still liked it, even though I understood why many others didn’t. Dylan’s music works on so many levels, and directors try to find ways of mirroring that on celluloid, and often the result is pretentious and misses the mark. But it’s hard if not impossible to capture Dylan’s mercurial genius–whether in print or on film. I still often enjoy the attempts. I felt the same about Bob’s own mad movie, Renaldo and Clara–almost impossible to follow, symbolism run amuck, and yet I still pull it out from time to time for the concert scenes, and Bob’s interactions with Ginsberg, etc. And somehow I don’t think a straight Dylan biopic would work either, just too limiting. As great as Scorcese’s “No Direction Home” was, it too felt too straight,too conservative a take on such a revolutionary icon.
I’m going to see the movie when it opens here, and try to enjoy it for what it is–no more or less. In the meantime, I love Sonic Youth’s take on “I’m Not There”, what a marvel of a song even when covered.

By: Jocelyn

Jocelyn — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 12:34:10 +0000

But Jackson, aren’t I (and you) really the target audience for this film, and not just some film critic?

By: inthealley

inthealley — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 12:04:54 +0000

Well, I’m a Dylan fan and saw the film in London and listened to Todd Haynes answer questions after …… I really loved the film because it seemed to me to draw from all kinds of influences, but to echo the methodology of Renaldo and Clara in a way that was instinctive rather than intentional ….. it developed a mesmeric quality that melded sound and vision and kept my eyes glued to the screen. Clearly it was not logically organised, but it WORKED. It is a rare event for me to want to revisit a film – generally only the best – quickly after having seen it. I am waiting for the film to be released here in England so that I can watch it again and see things I didn’t see last time.

By: dylan fan

dylan fan — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 09:20:52 +0000

“Dylan has so many fans, and they don’t all wear black turtlenecks, live in cities, and talk about organic vegetables and hybrid cars and silent films. I think what made Dylan special is that he spoke about the heart of everyman, and this is not a movie for everyman.”

Amen.