I'm Not There.

Name: I'm Not There.
Genre: Biography, Drama, Music
Released: November 21, 2007
Duration: 135 min
Rating: 73
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Heath Ledger

2007

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 149 Ratings

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6.7

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6.7	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 149 Ratings

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I'm Not There

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Movie Details & Credits

Weinstein Company, The | Release Date: November 21, 2007 | R

Starring: Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Heath Ledger

Summary: I'm Not There is a film that dramatizes the life and music of Bob Dylan as a series of shifting personae, each performed by a different actor—poet, prophet, outlaw, fake, star of electricity, rock and roll, martyr born-again Christian—seven identities braided together, seven organs pumping through one life story, as dense and vibrant as theI'm Not There is a film that dramatizes the life and music of Bob Dylan as a series of shifting personae, each performed by a different actor—poet, prophet, outlaw, fake, star of electricity, rock and roll, martyr born-again Christian—seven identities braided together, seven organs pumping through one life story, as dense and vibrant as the era it inspired. (The Weinstein Company)… Expand

Director: Todd Haynes

Genre(s): Biography, Drama, Music

Rating: R

Runtime: 135 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Owen Gleiberman

I'm Not There lets you hear it again, more majestically than ever. Read full review

Sean Axmaker

Faced with an artist defined more by his lyrics than his life story, Haynes delivers a song-cycle of a movie: vivid, exaggerated, contradictory impressions of a man who confounds a culture still looking to define him. Read full review

A.O. Scott

Among its many achievements, Todd Haynes’s I’m Not There hurls a Molotov cocktail through the facade of the Hollywood biopic factory. Read full review

Empire Staff (Not credited)

An extraordinary attempt to encapsulate the many faces of Bob Dylan that plays better to the convert than the sceptic. Like the nasal twang of the man in question, the film finally beguiles more than it irritates. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Ken Fox

In the end it remains an academic exercise, though a dazzlingly ambitious one that’s well worth seeing. Read full review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

What emerges is a speculative, critical essay about the 60s, weighted down in spots by political correctness and a conflicted desire to mock Dylan's denseness while catering to his hardcore fans, but otherwise lively, fluid, and watchable. Read full review

Mick LaSalle

Anyone can make a bad movie, but it takes a good filmmaker to make one as bad as I'm Not There. Read full review

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User Reviews

Spanish_Johnny

Aug 5, 2020

A true masterpiece. Todd Haynes is a great filmmaker and he clearly understands Bob Dylan and his music which is the biggest reason this unconventional biopic works. This is the greatest movie about Bob Dylan we will ever get. It's perfect. The whole cast is amazing, especially CateA true masterpiece. Todd Haynes is a great filmmaker and he clearly understands Bob Dylan and his music which is the biggest reason this unconventional biopic works. This is the greatest movie about Bob Dylan we will ever get. It's perfect. The whole cast is amazing, especially Cate Blanchette. And the sountrack is obviously amazing as well. This will always be in my top 5. If you don't understand Bob Dylan, you will not understand this movie. It's complex, intelligent and creative like no other biopic.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Jan 26, 2008

Haynes uses Dylan's many media constructions as a vehicle for a postmodern meditation on the way we perceive the lives of public figures as a collection of symbols and narratives. His work is really more of a deconstuctive critique of the typical biopic than it is an honest attempt to Haynes uses Dylan's many media constructions as a vehicle for a postmodern meditation on the way we perceive the lives of public figures as a collection of symbols and narratives. His work is really more of a deconstuctive critique of the typical biopic than it is an honest attempt to depict Dylan's life. I think it is a great success in that effort. It did feel a little hollow though and it was unable to capture the emotional power and intimacy of Dylan's most focused and introspective work. One of postmodernism's primary flaws is an inability to speak to an emotional human core beyond social constructions. Still, Haynes has produced an outstanding and thought provoking work of art! I do think that perhaps one must "speak Dylan" to really understand the film's many references, but anyone should be able to appreciate it, if only for the amazing music and captivating imagery.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

tonyGreen

May 9, 2012

First things first; this is most definitely an 'art movie' and yes, it's pretty long. However if you have the ability to maintain your attention, this an enjoyable watch. It's pretty for one thing. And really very smart. I can't say I understood every detail. But the approach to theFirst things first; this is most definitely an 'art movie' and yes, it's pretty long. However if you have the ability to maintain your attention, this an enjoyable watch. It's pretty for one thing. And really very smart. I can't say I understood every detail. But the approach to the biography is well done. Bob Dylan is complex character (aren't we all?) who has had an extraordinary life. So we see a fragmented reality, each character an stand-in for different sides of the whole person, the truth residing somewhere within. The clue is in the title. A great soundtrack too ('natch')… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

RobertI.

May 3, 2008

three cheers for ambition, but ultimately too hard to engage with. The elliptical tracks can bore or lose you too easily. But it beats Ray by a mile.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

FredM.

Nov 30, 2007

Fascinating failure, lengthy and pretentious. Haynes' idea of exploring Bob Dylan's psychic personas through different actors is brilliant with two standout performances: Cate Blanchett as the mid-60s druggy, psyched-out Dylan and Marcus Carl Franklin as Dylan incarnating a Fascinating failure, lengthy and pretentious. Haynes' idea of exploring Bob Dylan's psychic personas through different actors is brilliant with two standout performances: Cate Blanchett as the mid-60s druggy, psyched-out Dylan and Marcus Carl Franklin as Dylan incarnating a runaway, Woody Guthrie-worshipping black boy. The other Dylans, Christian Bale as a protest folkie turned Christian preacher, Heath Ledger as a womanizing movie star, Ben Whishaw as motormouth pseudo Rimbaud, and Richard Gere as an aged Billy the Kid, add no new revelations to the Dylan legend and the movie eventually becomes tedious and boring in its gimmickry. Striking black and white scenes lifted directly from Fellini's "8 & 1/2" (even using Nino Rota's score) effortlessly blended with scenes of the American West eventually loose their attraction as conversations about art and the role of the artist don't bring new insight. The soundtrack mixing original Dylan songs with covers by diverse acts such as Sonic Youth and Charlotte Gainsbourg is quite good but cannot save the film from its empty core. This film is a bore and Dylan deserves better.… Expand

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tbi

Sep 7, 2008

This movie seemed to be long winded , boring, and confusing. I feel like the people who might seek this movie out, may not have the attention span to even follow it, or maybe zone in and out of it. Too bad.

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SamJ.

Nov 22, 2007

Completely ridiculous notices here by people who love Dylan, but may not be serious movie fans. This is a disjointed, overly stylized treatise which is often torturous to sit through. I adored Haynes' FAR FROM HEAVEN, but this is a major disappointment.

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82	#82 Best Movie of 2007
68	#68 Most Discussed Movie of 2007