I'm Not There

I've been avoiding I'm Not There since it came out last year. I had heard about it. They had a half dozen actors playing characters which kinda/sorta were Bob Dylan in different times and spaces. I had heard that Cate Blanchett was fantastic. I had heard the soundtrack was really good. Still, how could this film be anything but a chaotic mess?

Tuffy P rented it and we watched the film this afternoon. It is much better than I imagined it would be. I liked the way the film ducked back and forth between the various characters. I liked that fact that most of them (including an 11 year old African-American kid actor) didn't look much like Dylan and the fact that Cate Blanchett kind of did.

The film turns out to be a really respectful bio-pic. The various covers of Dylan material were also very respectful and very well done. I liked Ritchie Havens performance a lot, as well as the Calexico version of Goin' to Acapulco, and the fine cover of a tune from Dylan's gospel bag of tricks, Pressing On.

Here's Pressing On, covered by John Doe, from the film:


And here's weird Bob himself, performing Pressing On live, I'm guessing from back in 79.


A taste of Cate Blanchett's performance...


Finally, here's the real deal interviewed on 60 minutes in 2004.