Thanks Capo. I, for one thought it was more a biography of sorts of Dylan. From what you've described it sounds like, although aspects of Dylan's life are portrayed, that the film itself covers the atmosphere (historic and/or cultural) of that particular period of his life.
It's about Dylan just as much, TIS, but deals with him in such a way that, as I said, the film could be about anybody, in a way... What you get out of it depends what you're able to put in; and what you're able to put in depends on how much you know about Dylan, or how much you connect with him.
Originally Posted By: TIS
You mentioned Blanchett's portrayal (btw, how was her performance?), but how about the others who portrayed him?. I assume they all played Dylan at different ages. Also, at what stage of his life, or in what year did this film end? Current day?
Difficult to say; I'd say it takes us up to and includes his return to folk music at the beginning of the nineties (as on the album World Gone Wrong), with "Man in the Long Black Coat" playing during Richard Gere's segments. Really, though, although I didn't find overt reference to his more contemporary stuff, Dylan's character hasn't changed all that much since the nineties (if ever), even though his public persona/mask has. I think the film tackles this, actually: the notion that, for all the different faces he's had, he's fundamentally the same person (as personified by Gere's seemingly underrated segment).
Blanchett's awesome and will be the actor by whom the film is remembered by... but that's only because the Dylan she plays also happens to be the most iconic 'face' he's had (mid-sixties, the same period covered by Pennebaker's and Scorsese's documentaries). Heath Ledger is great as the love-torn Dylan during the period of Blood on the Tracks and Desire (my favourite Dylan period); Christian Bale is as reliable as ever; young black actor Marcus Carl Franklin plays Dylan as an up-and-coming "fake" folk artist; Ben Wishaw plays a Dylan under questioning (very brief role, but his accent is spot-on, and his dialogue is witty as hell), and Richard Gere plays Dylan at his most mysterious, a role certain to perplex many.
I, for one, loved all of them. Wishaw isn't even mentioned in many of the synopses, but as he's a sort of narrator to the film (and is very good, too), I'd never discard him.
I look forward to hearing any thoughts you have on the film, TIS, once you see it.
...dot com bold typeface rhetoric. You go clickety click and get your head split. 'The hell you look like on a message board Discussing whether or not the Brother is hardcore?
