Dir. Todd Haynes, US / Germany, 2007, 136 mins
Cast: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin
Review by Carol Allen
Although this film, explains Haynes, is "inspired by the music and many lives of Bob Dylan" there is no character actually called Bob Dylan in it. What Haynes does instead is to create six different characters, each representing a different aspect of the musician's life and work and each with their own story, which occasionally interacts with one of the others.
First up is the very talented Franklin as Woody, an Afro-American child riding the freight trains in the depression era, who embodies Dylan's early passion for folk music and particularly the songs of Woody Guthrie. Franklin also is the only actor, who sings his own version of the many covers of Dylan's songs used throughout the film. Bale plays Jack Rollins, Dylan's early sixties protest song persona of "Blowin' in the Wind" and such. He's seen only in clips and stills in a very effective eighties style black and white mock documentary about the singer, who walked away from it all at the height of his fame. He gives the character an appropriate intensity and crops up later in the film as pastor of a Pentecostal church. Dylan converted to Christianity in the late seventies, although he did not actually become a minister. The most interesting performance comes from Blanchett as Jude, charismatic and androgynous, drugged up, slim as a wand and with the trademark curly hair, in the self destructive and fiercely creative "Like a Rollin' Stone" late sixties era. The black and white photography here, particularly in its use of stills, which are reminiscent of David Bailey's work, captures the feel of the period perfectly and Blanchett is terrific in the role. Heath Ledger as self-obsessed counter culture actor Robbie explores Dylan's personal life through his troubled marriage with Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), which epitomizes male attitudes of the time to emerging female emancipation. The least successful incarnation is that of Ben Wishaw as Arthur, representing Dylan's interest in the French poet Arthur Rimbaud. Wishaw has no-one to interact with apart from unseen interrogators to whom he is giving irritatingly obscure answers. The oldest Dylan incarnation is Billy (Richard Gere), referencing both Dylan's interest in American folk lore and his contribution to the 1973 Peckinpah movie Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Billy, somewhat confusingly, appears to be living both in modern America, where his cowboy lifestyle is threatened by a planned freeway and to also be Billy the Kid himself in the old West. He also crosses paths with young Woody, as the town he lives in is the town Woody claims to come from.
The film is at times a touch tricky to follow but it does hold the attention throughout. Picking up on its many cultural allusions is also a fun game. As well as the six main actors, there are some good supporting performances, including Julianne Moore as a contributor to the mock doc, David Cross, a very convincing Alan Ginsberg and an unrecognisable Michelle Williams as Coco, who may or may not represent the Factory Girl played recently by Sienna Miller.
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