I love Dylan’s music and I am a fan of several actors in the film and the concept seemed really neat…so it seemed like inevitable that I would like it. But I was oh so wrong.

I found it at best interesting and at worst annoying. I expected to walk away having a better understanding of Bob Dylan and ended up - well asleep. I never even finished it and that is saying something.

Really too bad.

i consider myself relatively familiar with dylan music and lore, and was excited to finally see this. i was then confused for about an hour and a half.
first off, yes, cate blanchett, though rather flat at first, grows into the role, probably because she is given more screen time than anyone else. which makes sense, as it is the dylan that most people are familiar with.
but the rest are a rather motley crew. christain bale just seems like hes doing a good impression of someone else doing a bad dylan impersonation. except the saved portion, that was good, even though all his voice overs were kind of off.
heath ledger just..seemed like he should have been in a different movie. it seems like what he represented of dylan’s persona was blown hugely out of proportion and could have been absorbed by another role.
richard gere ditto. i have no idea what the hell was going on in that, why it made an entire sequence out of one soundtrack he did. seeing my morning jacket play an entire song was pretty awesome though.
the black kid was pretty good. i dont even know what the hell was going on with the other guy.

i dunno, all in all i thought it was pretty forcedly complex, too convoluted for its own good. like ooo, look how mysterious and complex bob dylan is/was. like we dont know that. whats frustrating is that this movie didnt seem to want to help anyone actually understand anything more, adding 6 different actors all with 6 different character names was just silly and confusing. extravagant.

i say skip this and watch dont look back then no direction home, hear it straight from him.

Maybe if you don’t recognize Bob Dylan as singularly important musician and artist, then maybe you wouldn’t get much out of this film. But I sat down and thought about it and I don’t really take anyone’s opinion too serious who falls in that category.

So, for the rest of you…Get this movie and watch it. It is so smart that you will ask yourself, what the heck have I been watching the whole rest of the time? The film asks a question and then proceeds to challenge you to answer it. Who was Dylan? Well, who do YOU think he was? The impact of your answer and everyone else’s answers makes up the meat of the film. Of course, the music is great and the acting is awesome. Cate Blanchett is incredible and the movie is worth seeing just for her performance. Mostly, I think people should see movies, every once in a while, that mess a bit with your head and stick with you. I’m Not There is one or the rare films that fits the bill.

Six characters play Bob Dylan during different stages of his career. Never mind that he’s played by a child, by men of different ages and a woman; this is poetry. Actually, poetry and a lot of Dylan’s anger and an explicit insight into his music. As free-wheelin’ as the man himself seems to me, this is very well directed considering Haynes has made me feel that it’s a complete film despite six totally different story-lines being weaved throughout the story. Extra kudos to Blanchett; call me stupid, but I didn’t know it was she until the very last frame of her.

This is not your Cola and popcorn movie. It has a complex narrative and form, but if you are slightly familiar with the story behind what made Dylan, you would like it very much.

I recommend this movie because I think it perfectly shows that Bob Dylan is not only the name for a singer-songwriter, but it’s somehow a Zeitgeist of American music for past decades.

For those who are unfamiliar with the story of Dylan, I recommend watching two outstanding documentary films first: “No Direction Home” by Scorsese and “Don’t Look Back” by D.A. Pennebaker.

Finally, Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett shine in this movie.