"I'm Not There" Review: Schrödinger's Bob Dylan

By Amber Joy Yourman

Here is how I met I'm Not There, a [supposed] biopic about Bob Dylan.

I started a new job the week that my mom died. I desperately needed the job, but definitely wasn't ready to lose my mother. So, it was a rough week.

You know those pop-up carnivals you drive past, at shopping malls and the stock show or whatever, and think, "That looks like a death trap. I would never get on that ride," and then you just keep driving? Yeah, that's me right now. I am a janky carnival roller-coaster human disaster. Which is possibly why I enjoyed this film so much.

Directed by Todd Haynes, who apparently did a bunch of other shit as well, this film is also a wild ride.

We Ubered to and from the screening because I just didn't want to be in charge of any more decisions or be tempted by oncoming traffic that day. [Which worked out, because we got a GREAT story out of an Uber driver.]

I didn't really even want to go anywhere or deal with PEOPLE, but I really wanted to see the film and I knew that being around my Fort Worth Film Club friends would be good for me.

I warned my daughter before we left, "I am probably going to cry in public this evening. Does that change your wanting to go tonight?" Her response: "You've embarrassed me multiple times at Film Club. We'll be fine."

Cate Blanchette not only plays one version of Bob Dylan, she also portrays me heading to the FWFC screening! We’ll be fine. This is fine. Image courtesy of Lionsgate.

I loved I'm Not There. I want to watch it a hundred more times at least. I want to unpack its parts and participles and let it sing me to sleep. And I want to hear everything Dylan has ever sung or written.

My daughter really enjoyed it as well, but she liked different parts of the film than I did and may not bother to watch it again or ever listen to anything by Bob Dylan.

A friend of mine said, "I wasn't the right audience...but it was an interesting portrait of a vainglorious asshole told in a pretentious way." [Do I have awesomely smart friends or what?]

I think that the friend, my daughter, and I are all right. And I think Bob Dylan would agree with us.

I knew very little about Bob Dylan heading into this screening, but was enticed by the concept of multiple actors playing one character:

• Marcus Carl Franklin

• Christian Bale

• Cate Blanchett

• Richard Gear

• Heath Ledger

• Ben Wishaw

...they all played Bob Dylan in this movie. Representing different times in his life and varied facets of who he is.

The six different actors who embody different aspects of Bob Dylan’s career. Image courtesy of Lionsgate.

I was SO CONFIDENT that Cate Blanchett would be my favorite rendition. It turns out that Cate impressed me the most but Heath Ledger was my favorite. And Charlotte Gainsbourg, who played his wife, is breathtaking in every single frame.

If you haven't seen the film, I'm Not There should definitely be on your list. You don't have to like or care about Dylan or the 60s to get something out of this movie. It was written by award-winning writer/directors and played by an all-star cast. If you end up not liking it or having mixed feelings, you are in good company because my daughter and friend mentioned above are both brilliant and wonderful. If you love it and want to watch the film again and talk about it more, then call me. We'll grab coffee.

Many thanks to FWFC for continuing to introduce me to very cool things, and also be so kind to my family.

Love y'all.

Do you want attend a Fort Worth Film Club screening? Monthly signature screenings are free and open to the public. To see a schedule of upcoming events and learn more about the FWFC and our parent organization The Reel House Foundation, please visit our website.