Directed by Todd Haynes, who also directed Velvet Goldmine and Sonic Youth's video for "Disappearer".
To be I honest I've never been a crazy about Bob Dylan. I have the live recording of his first concert using the electric guitar, and Highway 61. They're pretty good. This movie makes me want to listen to his music a little closer. The movie takes 6 different sides to Bob Dylan's life; The fake, the rebel, the rock star, the outlaw. the poet, and the lover, or husband. This movie takes some big risks visually and concept wise, but ultimately comes up with something fresh and exciting. The best quoute I've ever heard comes from Billy Childish, who said that rock and roll should always be on the verge of disaster. This edge is what makes rock and roll so exciting. This movie gives you the same feeling, which as it looks on the screen felt like Bob Dylans life. He is constantly at war with himself and those around him. At first trying to fight to find his own voice, and his own time period. He tries to dispose the shadow of Woody Guthrie, and sing about his own times. And then once he becomes labeled as a folk singer, singer of protest songs, He gets up on stage and sprays bullets into the crowd, which I thought visually was the ultimate metaphor. Todd Haynes tries to use Dylan's songs to inform the visuals all throughout the movie and does pretty well. My favorite was probably the Mr. Jones song, where the reporter is put on stage and into a cage. This movie has so much to take in, with the six different charchters, and the layering of the music, and the hidden metaphors. It begs to be watched more than once. Last but not least, Cate Blanchet was amazing, she was the best Dylan of all. Every word she speaks and every move she makes is wonderfully eloquent. Her preformance forces you to you to believe in his reality. This portrait of a man, with many souls, is not only Bob Dylan, but us as well. The artist mirrors us. He or she executes not only our dreams, but also our pain and struggles. Who the hell are we, and what the hell are we doing here?
