"I'm Not There"

[RichardL]

Just rented it. While I appreciate a Todd Haynes movie as much as anyone... this movie makes my brain hurt. Self-indulgent, pointless. A few good moments - so as not to spoil it, think the "Pete Seeger" character. Plus Cate Blanchett. :righton:

It's not a biopic, but it has enough Dylan it-almost-happened-this-way moments to make you think so. Inspired by the life and songs of Bob Dylan indeed.

Makes me really not want to rent Velvet Goldmine.

[phallumontis]

While there is a part of me that wants to see it, I also knew that scenesters would be lining up by the thousands to see it at my local arthouse cinema. It seems like a very self-consciously "hip" movie. Also, David Cross as Allen Ginsberg?

[tommy-thewho]

I thought you needed to be stoned to enjoy it... Very disappointed here..

[Marty Milton]

I also wanted to like this movie, as well. It was nothing like I expected, and that is not a statement of praise. One thing I did like was the curious reference to the movie The Graduate where the two dwarf bell-hops come up to Richard Gere and say "Good evening Mr. Gladstone."

[rjp]

probably in my bottom 10 of all time.

just terrible, and OK cate blanchett plays a man, a very heralded part that just wasn't all that great.

[Drifter]

Can't always trust the critics I guess; they seemed to mostly like it:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/im_not_there_suppositions_on_a_film_conc erning_dylan/

http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/imnotthere?q=I'm%20Not%20There

Was thinking of renting it but now I'm not so sure...

[Squealy]

Gosh, people were much more positive in this thread:

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=126985&highlight=dylan+movie

[mrbillswildride]

Can't always trust the critics I guess; they seemed to mostly like it:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/im_not_there_suppositions_on_a_film_conc erning_dylan/

http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/imnotthere?q=I'm%20Not%20There

Was thinking of renting it but now I'm not so sure...

Gosh, people were much more positive in this thread:

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=126985&highlight=dylan+movie



I absolutely LOVED it... in the theatre, and again, in a recent DVD rental... It is a bloody BRILLIANT film, artistic endevour... a MUST see for Dylan fans...
WAY better than Velvet Goldmine, you just got to open you mind folks... and I was NOT stoned... I just went in open-minded and took it all in, repeated veiwing reveal the depth and complexity of the plot, scenes, and details...

[Michael]

Thanks Mr. Bill I'll have to check it out.

[Mark]

I thought it was Dylanistically weird, too. There were some very strong moments, but overshadowed by much, much, much trying too hard by everyone involved.

[mrbillswildride]

I thought it was Dylanistically weird, too. There were some very strong moments, but overshadowed by much, much, much trying too hard by everyone involved.

I could see that... a decent enough apprasial... but I still think it worth seeing, at least once... any Dylan fan shoudl at least rent the dvd and decide for themselves its worth or artistic merits... some amazing Dylan pashaches by the many varied Dylans, some just nail him (to the cross...)

[RichardL]

I absolutely LOVED it... in the theatre, and again, in a recent DVD rental... It is a bloody BRILLIANT film, artistic endevour... a MUST see for Dylan fans...
WAY better than Velvet Goldmine, you just got to open you mind folks... and I was NOT stoned... I just went in open-minded and took it all in, repeated veiwing reveal the depth and complexity of the plot, scenes, and details...

For me it's not a question of opening your mind, but of Dylan-reference fatigue. As someone once said about something else, "It's the kind of thing that appeals to people who like that kind of thing."

[jkm]

I thought it was fantastic and ordered it from DDDVD during their recent sale. It was on backorder for quite awhile due to the demand.

[Greatest Hits]

I loved Heath Ledger in it which is part of the reason I felt so saddened to hear of his death about a week after I had seen it.

Probably the only one I really enjoyed in it.

[JohnG]

One movie that I'm not even interested renting from Netflix.

[Downsampled]

One of the few movies I've ever seen that had an actual Monkees song in it! I enjoyed that part. :)

I didn't much like the rest of it. Seems like a fun time for a big Dylan fan, which I am not. I am sorta glad I saw it; it's different and parts of it are interesting. But really, it was mostly boring for me. The Richard Gere parts were just unbearable.

[jizwood1]

Anyway I will rent that movie and have a look at it.

[rjp]

Anyway I will rent that movie and have a look at it.

have a magazine nearby :)

[alfarkel]

I saw it a few weeks ago and it left me saying, "whaaa?"

The cinematography is pretty nice. That's the only good thing to say about it.

Cate Blanchett was horrid, a mistake in casting.

I felt the the advertising for this misleading. I expected a story about Dylan, and all I got was this poor second rate illusion of his life.

Bring me Tantrums and tiaras if I wanna see rock stars go off.

[The Panda]

I'm glad I saw it. I get so tired of standard formula Hollywood films. I won't deny that I too found parts of it stupefyingly boring. But it kept the wife and I talking the next day, which I guess is more than the Indiana Jones movie did.

I'm sure if I saw it again, I'd pick up more of the subtle anal-lyric-freaks-only parts. I remember there was a line from Yea! Heavy and a Bottle of Bread in there that made me chuckle. I also like that they used the acoustic Idiot Wind.

[Mick Jones]

I've not seen this film, and based on what I've read about it I'm in no great hurry to, I can wait until it appears on TV in a couple of years. However, the soundtrack album is very good. I've no idea how much of what is on the two CDs actually appears in the movie, but it is just about all well worth hearing.

[Ian Lascell]

I rented this and tried to give it a go. I didn't realize what I was getting into though, and figured out pretty early in the film I was not prepared to watch this. I then went and read some of the background on the DVD intro, which helped explain things a bit. Everything I saw looked really well-done, however I was lost almost immediately and had trouble following anything. I have a feeling some day I could really like this if I can get into the right frame of mind for it. Any suggestions? I usually love the strange stuff that nobody gets.

[dee]

I rented this and tried to give it a go. I didn't realize what I was getting into though, and figured out pretty early in the film I was not prepared to watch this.

Me too.

Plus, I actually needed a break from anything Dylan at the time I was trying to watch the movie. Maybe some day in the future I will try to see it. Dylan as shown as a boy interested me, especially playing Tombstone Blues on the front porch. I had just recently watched Factory Girl, which I loved, which features yet another Dylan - and the real Dylan in Don't Look Back - so I don't think I gave I'm Not There a fair shake, but what I did see, I thought was interesting, but I was bored all the same. Fwiw.

[jv66]

I agree, I was quite bored and stopped half way through. Trying to be too arty for just that purpose always fails in my book.

[Ian Lascell]

I agree, I was quite bored and stopped half way through. Trying to be too arty for just that purpose always fails in my book.

I'm not convinced this is the problem though. I just may not be ready for it yet. Lots of music is like that for me too. I'll listen to an album a number of times and still not get it and then BAM, one day it just makes sense. I just had this happen the other day with Jethro Tull's A Passion Play.

In this case, I'm not sure which it is, but I did get the feeling watching the first 20 minutes or so that it was very carefully done and also very creatively approached. Also it was clear that the acting was top-notch. It was just the overall organization of the thing that I wasn't able to get my brain around. So I do have some hope that if I approach it differently it might make sense to me at some point.