i watched todd haynes' _i'm not there_ last weekend. a dylan biopic, the film uses six actors to portray bob dylan at different stages of his life. the wikipedia entry is fairly thorough if you want to check it out. to my knowledge, this is the only dylan-approved film about him. it is poetic, which i imagine he likes.
cate blanchett's performance blew me away. she plays the mid- to late-sixties version, when he was going electric. if you've ever seen _don't look back_, you know that the dylan of this era was hard to love. he was proving himself internationally as a true artist and a pioneer. he was also proving himself to be a real asshole. when he saw potential hurt on the horizon for himself, he chose to deflect questions with what's-life-all-about-i-can't-believe-you're-focusing-on-me-'cause-i'm-just-another-human-being rhetoric. while his arguments may have been valid, but he also wielded them consistently when confronted with any criticism, and the effect is that the dylan of that era seems liked a spoiled child. a brilliant artist and a spoiled child. cate blanchett does a great job of showing how maybe it made him unpleasant as a companion, but maybe it's also that demeanor that allowed dylan to wear that houndstooth jacket on the stage in manchester after the intermission and withstand boos and jeers and still respond to someone calling 'i'll never listen to you again!' with 'i don't believe you.'
heath ledger was also great, and his character's wife (played by the eventual love interest from _science of sleep_) was also impressive.
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