Review by Marty Mapes

I did not grow up listening to the music of Bob Dylan. Dylan's lyrics did not inform my politics nor shape my adolescence, nor blow my mind. I'm unfazed and amused by all the Dylanology and Dylanography and Dylanerbole that can be found in Todd Haynes' generation. I'm Not There is made for you, and not for me.

The structure of Haynes' screenplay is an inspired way to tackle biography. We all have many faces. The "me" on my resume is different from the "me" my wife knows. What Todd Haynes does is to let Bob Dylan shatter into six facets, polish the rough edges, and reassemble them into a mosaic portrait that looks a lot like Bob Dylan.

Watching the audio commentary, it becomes clear that this movie really is for the die-hard, fanatical followers of Dylan. Many details are thrown in from obscure bootleg tapes or footage from unreleased documentaries or unpublished notebooks from Dylan's childhood. It's like a game. Haynes points out, for example, that a certain extra is wearing the very Halloween costume Dylan described in some off-the-cuff remark. That kind of trivia might thrill the super-fans, and yet it doesn't really add a thing to the enjoyment of the movie for us normal folks.

And yet, even if you don't play that game, I'm Not There is pretty good. It features good storytelling, a novel approach to characterization, great photography, and of course, very good music.

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