I'm Not There

I am posting my review for I'm Not There because it just came out on DVD. I saw it in the theater.

This Todd Haynes movie was like a dream sequence. It was as if I went to bed after listening to Dylan all day, reading Chronicles and watching Don't Look Back. This is what I might have dreamed. I’m Not There definitely illustrates what a mythological character Bob Dylan is. The movie contains snippets of stories and legends about Dylan that may or may not be true, such as Pete Seeger and the axe. Some of the dialogue was taken directly from Dylan songs, speeches or interviews.

The movie is filled with subtle gestures that a passionate Dylan lover will appreciate, such as clothing from different eras, phrases or lyrics from songs and other things. As I watched Jim James from My Morning Jacket sing “Going To Acapulco”, I was enthralled. I was not sure how many people in the audience knew that song or about the Rolling Thunder Bob. I wondered if people would understand the white face make up. I knew, and that was all that mattered to me. Vocalist Liam Clancy, a Greenwich Village contemporary, once aptly compared Bob Dylan to the shape-shifters of Celtic mythology: “It wasn’t necessary for him to be a definitive person.” I’m Not There captures that essence perfectly.

The first character is a child named Woody (Marcus Carl Franklin). He carries a guitar in a case that says, “This Machine Kills Fascists”. He is a hobo who sings for his supper. He tells convoluted stories about who he is and where he is from. This is the Dylan who told journalists elaborate stories when he first arrived to New York—the Woody Guthrie impersonator.

Another character is Jack Rollins/Pastor John. Jack Rollins is a protest singer. He’s the “Blowin’ In The Wind” Dylan.
He’s dismayed at having become a commodity. This part of the movie shows an embellishment of Dylan’s famous speech after winning the Tom Paine Award in 1963, and Bale’s Jack singing The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll.

Pastor John is Jack Rollins after his conversion to Christianity. This happened to Dylan in the 1970’s. For some reason, this part of the movie came across to me like a Spinal Tap parody. Christian Bale has an almost George W. Bush accent, and the album covers made me laugh. Julianne Moore as a Joan Baez type girlfriend was also humorous. It seemed like a comical take on Protest Singer Bob. Maybe that’s what the real Bob would have been like after a while had he not refused to be the “voice of a generation.”

Jack/ Pastor John is connected to Heath Ledger’s character--an actor who stars in a biopic of Jack Rollins called “Grain of Sand”. He is a womanizer whose marriage is falling apart. Popular Dylan legend says Blood on the Tracks was written while Dylan was going through a bitter break up with first wife Sara.
I’m Not There brilliantly uses songs from this album (and a lovely scene with Visions of Johanna) during this part of the movie. This is the motorcycle-driving, hipster Dylan that everyone wants to sleep with, talk to, and photograph.

Arthur ( Ben Whishaw) is a chain smoking tribute to one of Dylan’s favorite poets named Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891).
This is considered to be the poetic Dylan, the Jokerman Dylan, the enigma Dylan. Some of the dialogue comes directly from the famous press conferences of the mid 1960’s in which Dylan didn’t give straight answers and toyed with the reporters.

The next two characters are my favorites.

Jude (Cate Blanchett) is a dead ringer for Dylan during the “Don’t Look Back” era. Jude has just gone electric, and some folk fans are not taking kindly to it. Blanchett captures the thin, drug-addled Dylan during the chaotic 1965 tour in the UK.
Einstein haired Jude hangs out with Allen Ginsberg, and Edie Sedgwick-like Coco while taking pills and wearing those famous shades. This part is just brilliant. I especially loved the Ballad of a Thin Man scene. I can’t describe what a feat Blanchett has achieved in this movie. She became Dylan in the same chameleon-like way in which Dylan became the different characters he’s been over the years.

In my opinion, that last character is the hardest for a non-avid Dylan fan to understand. Maybe for that reason, it is my favorite. I feel as if I’m in on some secret that only a passionate Dylanist would get. Richard Gere plays a rancher who lives in solitude.
He represents the cowboy Bob. Billy lives in a town called Riddle that is being forced out due to a new highway (Hwy 61?) that’s coming through. The town is filled with wonderfully colorful carnival people. These circus folks are like many of the characters in Dylan’s songs. Billy is like Billy the Kid (who, legend says, might have not been killed by Pat Garrett after all). Some say Billy just disappeared into obscurity. That’s exactly what Bob Dylan did after his motorcycle accident in 1966. Dylan went into “hiding” and made music with The Band. These songs turned into the Basement tapes (which were made over an 8 year period). This part of the movie has a lot of references to The Basement Tapes (I’m Not There is a song from those sessions), John Wesley Harding, and Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid (a wonderful soundtrack). The scene that ties it all together (for me, anyway) was when Billy finds Woody’s guitar on the train. This symbolizes the point in Dylan’s life when he was ready to play music again after thinking he was done for a while. Woody Guthrie Dylan was always there, no matter how much he tried to distance himself.

I enjoyed the movie. I think Todd Haynes did a great job capturing how difficult it is to capture Dylan in a movie. Throughout I’m Not There-Dylan is there, and then he’s not there. He’s only there in kaleidoscopic pieces until the very end. Then we see the real Bob Dylan in an ethereal, glowing clip-playing harmonica. Beautiful.

Ode to Bob Dylan

I first discovered Robert Zimmerman when I was about 10 or 11 years old. I happened to be up late at night when my mom and brother were in bed, and I saw a video for a song called Jokerman. I'm not even sure why the video was on. I just remember that when I saw the video and the man in it, there was something I really connected to. I liked the video, the words, and the crazy haired man with the raspy voice. I sat there until the end to see what the man's name was. I knew that information would be very important to me. I wrote down the name "Bob Dylan" on a piece of paper. I kept it for a while.

A few years later, when I was old enough to buy CDs (or more accurately had money for CDs), I bought Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. I was blown away by "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right." I remember listening to it on repeat, and especially loving the part that goes, "I once loved a woman, a child I'm told. I gave her my heart but she wanted my soul.." Since then, Bob Dylan's music has been there for me when I needed it most. When I'm sad, I listen to Desolation Row, or Not Dark Yet. When I'm feeling good, it's Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues, Hwy 61, Or Just Like Tom Thumbs Blues. Heck, I just listen to Hwy 61 Revisited in its entirety as often as I can. When I want to hear Bob talk about love (or lack thereof), I listen to Girl of the North Country, Visions of Johanna, Love Minus Zero/No Limit, Farewell, Angelina, Don't Think Twice, She Belongs to Me, etc. He's got a song for my every mood. I try to spread the Dylan love whenever I can. If he's not your cup of tea, that is fine. But if he is, then there is a whole treasure chest of songs to discover. One of my favorite things about the internet is that I get to talk with Dylan fans like myself. Sadly, I don't know many of them in "real life".

It's nice to come across people who enjoy the same kind of music I like. Even though the internet can sometimes be a cheesy place filled with half dressed porn bots and spam comments, it can also be a place to discover good music or discuss it with people who actually know what you are talking about. I've met many new Dylan fans here. They tend to come to me for advice on what Dylan item to get, which songs listen to, or what documentary to buy. Chances are, I've got a good answer. I love a new Dylan fan. There is a meaningful transformation a person can go through (if they want to) when they discover his music. It begins when a young, bright eyed, intelligent dreamer unearths the music of Bob Dylan. When I encounter one of these folks, it makes me very happy.

Being a Dylan "fan" is such a wonderful thing, and I'm happy for the person who has decided to give Dylan's music a try. If someone asks me which Dylan album to get, I suggest that they first check out Hwy 61 Revisited. Why? Because that is my personal favorite. Hwy 61 has some amazing songs on it. Like a Rolling Stone, Tombstone Blues, It Takes a Lot To Laugh (It Takes a Train To Cry), Ballad of a Thin Man, etc. The imagery on this album will allow you to sit in the dark and listen to it and be entertained. When it ends, I can easily start it over again. It strikes you like a surreal painting.

Hwy 61 includes Desolation Row, which is one of the most magnificent songs of all time. Another album I'd suggest after a person has acquired Hwy 61 Revisited is Blonde on Blonde. A gorgeous song called "Visions of Johanna" is on that album. The lyrics to that song are just gorgeous. The song starts off with, "Ain't it just like the night to play tricks when you're trying to be so quiet?" From then on, you are spell bound by his story about Louise and Johanna. Another song I really love is on that album as well. Stuck Inside of Mobile (With The Memphis Blues Again). I remember the first time I heard that song, I decided I would buy everything Dylan ever made. For him to write a song like that--well, I had to get to know his music better. That song stirs something inside of me that I can't quite explain. Sometimes I can listen to it and get a little teary eyed. Why? It's not a sad song. It's just a beautiful song. "Well, Shakespeare, he's in the alley with his pointed shoes and his bells, speaking to some French girl, who says she knows me well..." I just love it.

The album Blood on the Tracks deserves a mention. I discovered that one a little later. You almost can't beat that one. Tangled Up In Blue, Idiot Wind, Meet Me in the Morning, Shelter from the Storm, Buckets of Rain, Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts...Wow! This album was made in 1975, and was still as fresh and original as his first albums. Of course, the first Bob Dylan album I bought was "Freewheelin' Bob Dylan". That album is almost perfect. Girl of the North Country, Masters of War, Talkin WW3 Blues, A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall, Don't Think Twice, It's All Right. Freewheelin' featured the Bob Dylan who had the nerve to say what no one else was saying about the war and the civil rights movement. This album made him the so-called "voice of a generation". It was a title he never really wanted. The album is fantastic, though, and shows a young Bob Dylan in all his glory. Desire is another one that comes to you when you have reached a certain level. It took me a while to discover Desire.


He's got a lot of stuff, so it can take years to find the hidden gems. Isis is a song that makes me want to do cartwheels. I'm not sure why. It's an adventure story, a love story, a tall tale. It starts out, "I married Isis on the 5th day of May.." and takes you all the way to another land--to pyramids ("all embedded in icccee"). I love the way he says that. Hurricane, Mozambique, Romance in Durango. I listened to it on repeat for days. I only have the record, or else I'd listen to it constantly. After a person has discovered Bob Dylan's albums, there are still plenty of bootlegs to find. The Basement Tapes are like hidden treasures. The bootleg series Volumes 1-3 was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Let Me Die In My Footsteps, When The Ship Comes In, I'll Keep It With Mine, Blind Willie Mctell, Every Grain of Sand, etc. Then there are the live albums, and the other random bootlegs, and the modern Bob stuff. It just boggles the mind that someone could be as amazing as Bob Dylan.

I've seen him on concert two times, and felt so honored just to be in the same room as Dylan. He's done so much for me. Dylan's music is the soundtrack of my life. I love his music. I don't care if it's the young Bob straight out of Hibbing, or the Woody Guthrie Bob, or the New York Bob, or the Bob in the shades who smart mouths the press, or the Nashville Skyline Bob, or the Rolling Thunder Bob, or the Modern Bob who does commercials and hosts a radio show. I love so many bits and pieces of Bob Dylan and I'm so glad that he exists and continues to make music. Long live Bob Dylan. And thank you, Bob, for the music.