I'm Not There (2007)

Ruminations on the life of Bob Dylan, where six characters embody a different aspect of the musician's life and work.

Director:

Todd Haynes

Writers:

Todd Haynes (screenplay), Oren Moverman (screenplay)

Stars:

Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 28 wins & 47 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cate Blanchett	...	Jude
Ben Whishaw	...	Arthur
Christian Bale	...	Jack / Pastor John
Richard Gere	...	Billy
Marcus Carl Franklin	...	Woody / Chaplin Boy
Heath Ledger	...	Robbie
Kris Kristofferson	...	Narrator (voice)
Don Francks	...	Hobo Joe
Roc LaFortune	...	Hobo Moe
Larry Day	...	Government Agent
Paul Cagelet	...	Carny / Bell-Hop
Brian R.C. Wilmes	...	Circus Man (as Brian RC Wilmes)
Pierre-Alexandre Fortin	...	Gorgeous George
Richie Havens	...	Old Man Arvin
Tyrone Benskin	...	Mr. Arvin

Storyline

Six incarnations of Bob Dylan: an actor, a folk singer, an electrified troubadour, Rimbaud, Billy the Kid, and Woody Guthrie. Put Dylan's music behind their adventures, soliloquies, interviews, marriage, and infidelity. Recreate 1960s documentaries in black and white. Put each at a crossroads, the artist becoming someone else. Jack, the son of Ramblin' Jack Elliott, finds Jesus; handsome Robbie falls in love then abandons Claire. Woody, a lad escaped from foster care, hobos the U.S. singing; Billy awakes in a valley threatened by a six-lane highway; Rimbaud talks. Jude, booed at Newport when he goes electric, fences with reporters, pundits, and fans. He won't be classified.

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Plot Keywords:

bare butt | voyeur | female voyeur | voyeurism | 1960s | 

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Taglines:

All I Can Do Is Be Me Whoever That Is

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Music | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some sexuality and nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Bim Distribuzione [Italy] Diaphana [France]

Country:

Germany Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 December 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

I'm Not There

Filming Locations:

Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$730,819, 22 November 2007, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$4,017,609, 28 July 2012

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$11,664,116, 28 July 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

Killer Films, John Wells Productions, John Goldwyn Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White (partly) Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Singers John Doe and Mason Jennings provided the singing voice for Christian Bale's character and Stephen Malkmus (of Pavement fame) provided the singing for Cate Blanchett's character. Richard Gere, Heath Ledger and Ben Whishaw don't sing at all in the film. Ironically, both Bale and Gere have sung in movies before.

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Goofs

The phone at the Peacocks house is too modern for the time - the cord going into the handset had a clip in cord versus being attached directly to the piece.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: There he lies. God rest his soul, and his rudeness. A devouring public can now share the remains of his sickness, and his phone numbers. There he lay: poet, prophet, outlaw, fake, star of electricity. Nailed by a peeping tom, who would soon discover...
Jude: A poem is like a naked person...
Narrator:

• even the ghost was more than one person.

Arthur: ...but a song is something that walks by itself.

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Battle of the Decades: 2000s Game 1 (2014)

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Soundtracks

High Water (For Charley Patton)
Performed by Bob Dylan
Written by Bob Dylan
Published by Special Rider Music (SESAC)
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment

User Reviews

This movie is good but in a weird way.

I recently watched I'm not there and this movie isn't done in a way that really makes sense sometimes or flows, but after the first 10 minutes you really understand what is happening.This movie has differen't stories from differen't characters that come in and differen't times, and they all have something to do with bob Dylan's life.I thought the movie was gonna show one story at a time, but they show one for like 5 minutes then another one and comeback to it later and sometimes only show a clip for it for a few seconds.This is done in a very art-house style and is for fans of the genre, it isn't abstract crap like some movies but actually has some great scenes that are visually wonderful.Some scenes play like Fellini's 81/2 and this movie feels like a foreign film a lot of the time but the characters speak English.This movie is far from perfect for my taste and I am not a huge Dylan fan but I respect him a lot, the movie pretty much does a good job at pulling you into it and you go for a ride.It's well made and the acting is good all around, don't watch the movie if you don't like art type films or movies that focus on characters and out of place scenes that are put there for a visual purpose.It's a cool flick and I think a lot of people can respect it, it's nice to see something original and not in some movie formula like a lot of Hollywood blockbusters we get these days.