An Incredible Study

I’m Not There is an incredible film. Granted, it demands the viewer be invested in the context, the history, and the impetus for creating the film as a creative study of a life and a time.

This movie received stellar as well as dismal reviews from viewers. I’m not surprised at the poor reviews; some people will always want their books and movies to spoon feed them story, to not ask them (reader/viewer) to do any intellectual work whatsoever. Viewers who have no prior knowledge of Dylan or of the history of the time will probably be disappointed; those viewers should do their homework before viewing, then they’ll have a context for making the connections so many  amateur reviewers say are missing. What do folks want? Voice-over narration explaining the context and extended meaning of every scene? Todd Haynes: nice piece of work.