Love & Mercy

Directed by Bill Polhad and screenplay by Oren Moverman and Michael Alan Lerner from a story by Lerner, Love & Mercy is the story of the Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson told in two parallel narrative that focuses on Wilson in the mid-1960s where he was considered an eccentric but gifted music genius and in the late 1980s as a shell of his former self under the abusive of his therapist until a Cadillac saleswoman saves him. The film is an unconventional bio-pic that explores Wilson’s rise and descent into madness and mental illness and later be saved when he is at his most vulnerable as Paul Dano and John Cusack play the role of Wilson in the 60s and 80s, respectively,. Also starring Elizabeth Banks and Paul Giamatti. Love & Mercy is ravishing and touching film from Bill Polhad.

The name Brian Wilson isn’t just synonymous with not music that would stand for eons but a man who was gifted yet troubled where he would succumb to mental illness and depression only to re-emerge a survivor and an icon. The film is about not just Wilson’s time in the mid-1960s where he would create the landmark album Pet Sounds as well as his attempts to make the album Smile. It’s also about the man 20 years later as he is under the control of therapist until he falls for a Cadillac saleswoman in Melinda Ledbetter (Elizabeth Banks) who would later become his savior. All of which is told in a parallel, back-and-forth narrative style that reflects on Wilson’s mental descent in the 1960s as well as emerging out of that dark cloud of abuse and confusion in the 1980s.

The film’s screenplay by Oren Moverman and Michael Alan Lerner create this narrative that plays into the highs and lows that Wilson would endure as a co-founder of the surf rock band the Beach Boys who were considered the American rivals to the Beatles in terms of creating top-notch pop songs. The film does give a brief insight into the Beach Boys’ rise where the bulk of the 1960s narrative begins with Wilson’s breakdown in an airplane that would ultimately keep him out of the road. Being grounded, Wilson would find a sanctuary at the studio where he would have all of the time in the world to create songs at his own pace while would wait for the band to return from touring to contribute vocals. That strand in the narrative shows not just the exuberance that Wilson had but also the emergence of his mental descent which was due to a lot of things such as drugs as well as his strained relationship with his father Murry (Bill Camp). The script also reveals the tension between Wilson and the band that ultimately led to the shelving of Smile.

The 1980s narrative which would inter-cut with the 60s narrative shows Wilson as a middle-aged man where it begins with him looking for a car to buy where he would meet Ledbetter who has no clue the man she was talking to is Brian Wilson. Yet, she somehow finds herself going out with Wilson, despite the presence of his therapist Dr. Eugene Landy (Paul Giamatti), where she gets to know the man and see someone who is a good person but also in need of help. Especially as he had been disconnected from his family including two daughters, his ex-wife, his mother, and his band that includes his brother Carl and cousin Mike Love under Landy’s supervision as Ledbetter gets to know more of the real Wilson but also observe what Landy does. One key scene involves Ledbetter coming to Wilson’s home to bring food where she hears Landy screaming at a heavily-medicated Wilson during a songwriting session as Ledbetter learns from Wilson’s maid Gloria (Diana Maria Riviera) about the extent of Landy’s abuse. It’s a key sequence in the film that would have Ledbetter take a stand no matter what kind of dirt Landy could dig up on her. Though there are a few dramatic liberties that Moverman and Lerner do for dramatic reasons, they don’t stray too far from the real story nor do anything to exaggerate things other than show a very fragile man in need of saving.

Bill Polhad’s direction definitely has an air of style as it play into not just the world Brian Wilson was in but also in somewhat Hellish-existence he was living in under Dr. Landy’s abuse. Due to the film’s complex narrative, Polhad definitely aims for different visual styles as it relates to tone of the times as well as Wilson’s own state of mind. The 1960s narrative definitely owes a lot to style in terms of its usage of different film stock which help play into the Beach Boys rise and Wilson coming into his own as a producer and songwriter. Many of the compositions are quite simple in its usage of close-ups and medium shots where it would play into what Wilson is doing as he hears ideas in his head that would unfortunately morph into voices of doubt from his father and cousin Mike (Jake Abel). There is a bit of usage in the hand-held cameras yet Polhad prefers to keep things simple while also create elements that play into Wilson’s encounter with psychedelic drugs that were helpful at first only to turn on him towards his mental descent. The 1980s narrative has Polhad go for something much simpler but also with a look that is a bit more polished as it play into a world that is sort of modern but one that Wilson seems detached from.

While many of the compositions are a bit more detached in some aspects as it relates to Wilson’s mental state, it does play into a man trying to get back into the world through Ledbetter. One sequence in which Ledbetter spends the night with Wilson has this unique tracking shot where Wilson becomes paranoid that someone is watching as he begs Ledbetter to leave but still be with him as it is a heartbreaking scene that shows how scared Wilson is. Another sequence in the film’s third act is this strange montage that has the older Wilson confront his past in flashbacks and hallucinations as it relates to the voices in his head where the two Wilsons do see each other as it play into what he lost and what he could gain. Overall, Polhad crafts a mesmerizing and riveting film about the life of Brian Wilson through all of its trials and tribulations in two different time periods.

Cinematographer Robert Yeomen does amazing work with the film‘s cinematography from the way many of the Californian location exteriors look to play into that sunny environment that inspired the music of the Beach Boys to some of the lush interiors inside the recording studios and the look of Wilson‘s two homes in the 80s that has this very lovely but unsettling look. Editor Dino Jonsater does brilliant work with the editing as it does play into the film‘s unique narrative style with its smooth transition cuts as well as some stylish montages and other cutting styles to play into some of the exuberance and dark moments in the film. Production designer Keith P. Cunningham, along with art directors Andrew Max Cahn and Luke Freeborn and set decorator Maggie Martin, does fantastic work with the home Wilson had in the 60s with its piano on top of a sandbox and the recording studios as well as the homes he had in the 1980s that are very sparse but also empty. Costume designer Danny Glicker does wonderful work with the costumes from the look of the 1960s clothes that many wear to the more casual look of the 1980s with the exception of the clothes that Ledbetter wore.

Makeup effects designer Tony Gardner does nice work with the look of some of the characters in the way they evolved in the 1960s as well as the comical yet terrifying look of Dr. Landy. Visual effects supervisor Luke T. DiTommaso does terrific work with some of the film‘s visual effects as it relates to Wilson‘s first acid trip that play into his desire for a new sound and some of its purity as well as a flashback sequence that relates to the story about how his father damaged his right ear. Sound designer Eugene Gearty and sound editor Nicholas Renbeck do excellent work with the sound in the way Wilson would hear things including a dinner sequence that would scare him as well as the more sparse moments during the scenes in the 80s where Wilson tries to deal with his mental state. The film’s music by Atticus Ross is incredible as it is largely a mixture of ambient sound textures as well as a collage of the music of the Beach Boys as their music is prominently featured along with a new song by Brian Wilson and other music that is played on the film from Dusty Springfield, the Moody Blues, Kenny G, and Heart.

The casting by Kerry Barden and Paul Schnee is great as it features some notable small roles from Oliver Polhad as the adolescent Brian Wilson in the flashback sequence, Morgan Phillips as Dr. Landy’s son Evan who watches over Wilson and Ledbetter during a boat trip, Erik Eidem as one of Wilson’s caretakers in Doug who becomes concerned of Dr. Landy’s treatment of Wilson, Joanna Going as Wilson’s mother Audree in the film’s flashbacks, and Diana Maria Riviera in a terrific role as Wilson’s maid Gloria who would help Ledbetter in saving Wilson. Other noteworthy small roles as members of the Wrecking Crew session players in Teresa Cowles as bassist Carole Kaye, Gary Griffin as keyboardist Al de Lory, and Johnny Sneed as drummer Hal Blaine along with Mark Linett as engineer Chuck Britz, Jeff Meacham as Pet Sounds lyricist Tony Asher, and Mark Schneider as Smile lyricist Van Dyke Parks as they play into the people who are in awe of Wilson’s gift as an artist.

Nick Gehlfuss and Graham Rogers are terrific in their respective roles as Beach Boys members Bruce Johnston and Al Jardine who both express a bit of reservation into what Wilson is doing. Bill Camp is excellent as Wilson’s father Murry who isn’t keen on what his son doing feeling it is straying from the formula as well as being this domineering figure that would continuously haunt Wilson for much of his life. Brett Davern is superb as Wilson’s younger brother Carl as one of the few who likes what his brother is doing while becoming concerned for his mental state of mind. Kenny Wormald is fantastic as Wilson’s youngest brother Dennis who likes what Wilson is doing while having a few reservations about its commercial prospects. Erin Darke is wonderful as Wilson’s first wife Marilyn who expresses concern about her husband’s mental state as well as trying to form the family that he would unfortunately become estranged to.

Jake Abel is amazing as Wilson’s cousin/Beach Boys vocalist Mike Love who expresses concern of not just what Wilson is doing musically but also for the fact that Wilson is straying from what made their music so popular. Paul Giamatti is marvelous as Dr. Eugene Landy as Wilson’s therapist during the 1980s who is trying to take care of him but his methods become abusive where he would even try to threaten Ledbetter as it’s a monstrous performance. Elizabeth Banks is phenomenal as Melinda Ledbetter as the woman who would become Wilson’s second wife as this former model-turned Cadillac saleswoman who befriends Wilson only to fall for him where she would also be the person that would save him and get back in touch with what was good in the world.

Finally, there’s John Cusack and Paul Dano in outstanding performances as Brian Wilson where both men provide unique aspects to the man. As the middle-aged Wilson in the 1980s, Cusack displays that sense of confusion and anguish into a man lost in a haze of medication as well as trying to find some good despite the paranoia he carries as it relates to Landy. As the young Wilson in the 1960s, Dano provides the exuberance to someone who realizes the power of his creativity as well as an innocence that he would eventually lose due to drugs and demons. Both Cusack and Dano create something that allows so many layers to the Brian Wilson myth but also ground it with a humanity and fragility that nearly destroyed the man.

Love & Mercy is an incredible from Bill Polhad that features the amazing dual performances of John Cusack and Paul Dano as Brian Wilson. Featuring an inventive narrative by screenwriters Michael Alan Lerner and Oren Moverman, a ravishing score by Atticus Ross, and Elizabeth Banks’ graceful performance as Melinda Ledbetter-Wilson. It’s a film that doesn’t play by the rules of the bio-pic genre while creating a unique study of a man/artist struggling with demons and his desire to create great music. In the end, Love & Mercy is a magnificent film from Bill Polhad.

© thevoid99 2016

Rampart

Directed by Oren Moverman and written by Moverman and James Ellroy, Rampart is the story of a corrupt LAPD officer who finds himself in trouble as he tries to redeem himself during the Rampart scandal of 1997 for the Los Angeles Police Department. The film is a character study of a man dealing with his own actions as he tries to defend himself and save his career amidst a tumultuous period in the city of Los Angeles. Starring Woody Harrelson, Ice Cube, Ned Beatty, Robin Wright, Anne Heche, Cynthia Nixon, Brie Larson, Steve Buscemi, and Sigourney Weaver. Rampart is a compelling yet flawed film from Oren Moverman.

Set in 1999 Los Angeles during a dark period for the LAPD who is dealing with the Rampart scandal, the film is about a dirty and corrupt police scandal whose actions have finally caught up with him. Rather than quitting his job, officer Dave Brown (Woody Harrelson) tries to save his job and avoid any jail time but he becomes more troubling as even those who once bailed him out are unable to help him. Yet, Brown is also someone who is really a man that is just born to undo himself where he would eventually bring discomfort to authorities that want to help him as well as bring shame to his family. The film’s screenplay doesn’t just explore Brown and the things he does as a police officer but also a person who likes to take the law into his own hands. Sometimes it would be in the most gruesome way where he would be caught on tape beating someone who hit his car though Brown had every reason to beat up the guy.

While the script does paint Brown as a man who just hates everyone while doing all sorts of things. There are elements to him that try to show some goodness to him but his faults would often overwhelm everything as his own eldest daughter Helen (Brie Larson) really hates him. While the script does nice work in fleshing out Brown and his complexities, the script however doesn’t do much to get the story to move forward or really go anywhere. Especially as it relates to what Brown is trying to do but it tend to slow things down as he is given options that could’ve helped him. Whenever Brown is given these opportunities to redeem himself, the results become very frustrating as it play more into his character as someone that is just stubborn and not willing to see the bigger picture.

Moverman’s direction has some very intense moments in the way it showcases late 1990s Los Angeles as a world that is quite dangerous and unpredictable. Shot on location in some of the urban parts of Los Angeles as well as some of its downtown areas, the film does play into a world where a man is convinced that he is doing good for the city but is extremely corrupt in his actions. Moverman’s usage of close-ups and medium shots are engaging though there are some moments that aren’t very good. Notably a sequence where Brown meets two attorneys where the camera is constantly moving around to focus on one character in a repetitive pan where it is very annoying. It’s one of the aspects of the film that didn’t work while the script’s lack of a strong narrative does falter the pacing. Though Moverman’s usage of crane overhead shots and other stylistic moments are good, the film’s resolution is lacking in terms of any kind of redemption could be made for Brown as it ends up being unsatisfying despite Moverman’s observation on its protagonist. Overall, Moverman creates a intriguing but lackluster film about a dirty cop’s attempt to make things right.

Cinematographer Bobby Bukowski does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography from the stylish usage of lights and moods for many of the interior/exterior scenes set at night along with some grainy film stock for scenes set in the day. Editor Jay Rabinowitz does nice work with the editing as it does have some stylish jump-cuts and some unique rhythms for the suspense and drama though it does falter in that sequence where Brown is being interviewed by two attorneys. Production designer David Wasco, with set decorator Sandy Reynolds-Wasco and art director Austin Gorg, does fantastic work with the look of the home that Brown lives in with this ex-wives (who are sisters) and the hotel rooms he would crash as well as the home of a lawyer he would sleep with.

Costume designer Catherine George does terrific work with the costumes as it is mostly casual along with the look of the police uniforms while the only character that plays into a sense of style is Helen. Sound designer Javier Bennassar does superb work with the sound in the way the police sirens and gunfire sounds along with the intimate moments at home and at the bars. The film’s music by Dickon Hinchliffe is brilliant for its somber-based score in the guitar and keyboards to play into the drama while music supervisor Jim Black creates a soundtrack that features a mixture of hip-hop, electronic, and Mexican music along with a song by Leonard Cohen.

The casting by Laura Rosenthal and Rachel Tenner is amazing as it features some notable small roles and appearances from Robert Wisdom as the Rampart station’s captain, Jon Foster and Jon Beranthal as a couple of fellow officers, Steve Buscemi as a district attorney official in Bill Blago, Stella Schnabel as Brown’s new partner early in the film who is perturbed by his actions, Sammy Boyarsky as Brown’s youngest daughter Margaret who questions about what her father has done, Audra McDonald as a one-night stand Brown would be with early in the film, and Ben Foster in a superb role as a homeless vet named the General who often hangs out at a fast food restaurant. Robin Wright is wonderful as the attorney Linda whom Brown would frequently sleep with while he is suspicious that she is spying on him. Ned Beatty is terrific as the former cop Hartshorn who tries to help Brown in any way including moments that would help him only to realize that Brown is his own worst enemy.

Cynthia Nixon and Anne Heche are excellent in their respective roles as the sisters Barbara and Catherine as two of Brown’s ex-wives who deal with the coverage of Brown’s activities with Nixon as the more calm of the two and Heche as the one who wants nothing to do with him. Brie Larson is fantastic as Brown’s eldest daughter who despises her father as she also feels humiliated and embarrassed by his actions where she also copes with his own hatred for everyone. Sigourney Weaver is brilliant as the assistant DA Joan Confrey who wants Brown to reveal all of his activities as well as give the man a chance to do what is right. Ice Cube is incredible as the investigator Kyle Timkins who works for the DA’s office as he also tries to implore Brown to do the right thing while revealing what is at stake. Finally, there’s Woody Harrelson in a phenomenal performance as Dave Brown as a dirty LAPD officer who finds himself a big target during one of the lowest points of the LAPD where Harrelson brings a very menacing performance as a man with very little care for the world where he is also his own worst enemy as well as be selfish to the point that he brings shame to his own family including his own daughters.

Rampart is a stellar yet flawed film from Oren Moverman. While it features a great cast led by Woody Harrelson along with Dick Hinchliffe’s score, it’s a film that had all of the tools to be an intriguing character study but it lacks a very cohesive narrative to keep things going. In the end, Rampart is a fine but underwhelming film from Oren Moverman.

Oren Moverman Films: The Messenger - (Time Out of Mind) - (The Dinner (2017 film))

© thevoid99 2016

Jesus' Son

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 3/6/04 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Based on Denis Johnson's collection of short stories, Jesus' Son is the story of a 1970s heroin addict who tries to do good only continually mess things up as he wound encounter tragedy and redemption. Directed by Alison Maclean and screenplay by Oren Moverman, David Urritia, and Elizabeth Cuthrell, the film explores a young man trying to deal with addiction as well as doing what is right. Starring Billy Crudup, Samantha Morton, Jack Black, John Ventimiglia, Denis Leary, Will Patton, Holly Hunter, and Dennis Hopper. Jesus' Son is an extraordinary film from Alison Maclean.

A young drifter named FH aka Fuckhead (Billy Crudup) is hitchhiking as he hopes to return to Iowa to meet his girlfriend Michelle (Samantha Morton). After a horrifying car accident that he was apart of, FH looks back at his life where he recalls the moment he meets Michelle three years earlier at a party held by a guy named McInnes (John Ventimiglia) as the two later have another encounter where FH's friends Jack (Mark Webber) and Dundun (Michael Shannon) watch something horrifying happen. FH meets Michelle again a year later as the two start a tumultuous relationship as they would become full-blown heroin addicts that would have its wandering moods as it would often include FH's incompetence.

With Michelle gone, FH reaches out to fellow addict Wayne (Denis Leary) where the two make money in destroying an abandoned home and steal some cables where they both earn a good payday. The success allows FH to get back with Michelle though she presents some startling news that would prompt him to try and clean up. Working with another addict in Georgie (Jack Black) as an night-shift orderly in a hospital, the two delve into several hijinks as a doctor (Greg Germann) examines a patient with a knife in his eye where Georgie would make things worse. The two go on a road trip where they would kill a pregnant bunny as they tried to take care of the baby bunnies only for FH to screw things up as usual.

After another breakup with Michelle who leaves him to work in Mexico with a guy named John Smith (Will Patton), FH would have a strange encounter with a snakeskin-jacket man (Alan Davidson) as he tries to deal with his own relapsing drug addiction. After another reunion with Michelle that doesn't go well, FH eventually goes to rehab as he meets with a former addict named Bill (Dennis Hopper) whose story would help FH changes his life. After moving to Phoenix, he meets a former alcoholic named Mira (Holly Hunter) and works at nursing home while being entranced by a singer (Rebecca Kimball). With this new life, FH wonders about where he is going with this new life.

What makes Jesus' Son such an interesting film is in Alison Maclean's direction. While the film's script at times is hard to follow with its flashbacks and varied subplots, MacLean and the screenwriters make sure the story is appealing in its offbeat structure and tone. Even by adding elements of black comedy and drama, the film doesn't lose itself in it's pacing. In the more harrowing scenes of hallucinations, MacLean brings up the surreal tone of drug addiction at its darkest and campy. Even the film's look by cinematographer Adam Kimmel is amazingly captured in the film's three-act structure. From its blue look early on to the more colorful, hazy tone in the second to a more cleaner, enlightened tone in its final act. Even the film's music with an original score from Joe Henry as well as a wide mix of music from the 70s ranging from rock, pop, soul, and country to enhance the gritty, natural tone of the film.

The film's cast is extraordinary from its group of smaller roles played by Mark Webber, Michael Shannon, Alan Davidson, John Ventimiglia, and Greg Germann to its veterans like Dennis Hopper, Will Patton, and Holly Hunter in their small but respective roles that are performed wonderfully. Standing out in the supporting cast easily is Jack Black who delivers a hilarious, brash performance as Georgie by giving the film some much-needed comic relief. Denis Leary also provides a funny performance as Wayne as he comes out of the film like a drunk by beating people up and fucking things up as possible in one of Leary's best performances.

Samantha Morton is astonishing as Michelle by portraying a beautiful addict who can be unlikable at times yet for the British actress, Morton provides a sense of sexiness and sympathy in her troubled performance as an addict. Billy Crudup is amazing as the film's protagonist FH by being charming and loveable in his role despite being a total fuck-up. Crudup carries the film with ease and strong dramatic moments without being too vulnerable or too stupid. Crudup gives one of his best performances of his career, particularly as the film's narrator.

Jesus' Son is an entrancing yet harrowing film from Alison Maclean that features terrific performances from Billy Crudup and Samantha Morton. Along with a great supporting cast that includes Jack Black and Denis Leary, it's a film that explores the dark world of drug addiction as well as a man yearning to find redemption. Notably as it revolves a guy who tries not to live up to his namesake as incompetent fuck-up. In the end, Jesus' Son is a powerful drama from Alison Maclean.

(C) thevoid99 2012

The Messenger (2009 film)

Directed by Oren Moverman with a script co-written with Alessandro Camon, The Messenger tells the story of a young U.S. army staff sergeant who accompanies a captain to give notice to families of fallen soldiers. During one trip, the young soldier falls for a widow as he deals with his own ethics issues while befriending his superior. A war drama that plays to the Iraqi war of the 2000s, it is a film that explores what families and soldiers go through when they have to deliver the news of death to families. Starring Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton, Jena Malone, and Steve Buscemi. The Messenger is a harrowing yet mesmerizing film from Oren Moverman.

Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) has just returned from Iraq following a tour of duty that has left him battered while his left eye was nearly damaged. The only person waiting for him is his girlfriend Kelly (Jena Malone) who reveals during dinner that she is getting married to another man. With a few months left for his time as a soldier, Will is called by Lt. Colonel Dorsett (Eamonn Walker) to go on an assignment with Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson) to give notices to the families of fallen soldiers. Stone gives Will specific instructions about what to do and what not to do during these assignments. With Will watching the cynical, hardened Stone what he does, it is very hard for Will to give out these notices.

Still reeling from his wounds, the trauma of war, and Kelly’s engagement, Will tries to deal with issues through drinking and being alone in his apartment. During an assignment where he and Stone are giving notice to a woman named Olivia Pitterson (Samantha Morton). The two are baffled by her behavior as Will is intrigued while he and Stone continue to socialize in bars as Will is still intrigued by Olivia as he sees her at a mall with her son Matt (Jahmir Duran-Abreau). Will suddenly spends time with her while dealing with the assignments he’s giving out as he’s having a harder time about Kelly when he receives an invitation to her engagement party.

With Will continuing to spend his time with Olivia as she reveals plans to move to another city, he helps her as she reveals stories about her late husband. Will realizes he is getting too close as during a trip to another notice, Will overhears a man’s name as he came to him and his wife giving them the notice about their son’s death as Will does something that he shouldn’t have done. Stone is upset as Will reveals he’s tired of what not to do. With Will finally given a break, he and Stone go out for the weekend with a couple of young ladies (Lindsay Michelle Nader and Merritt Weaver) for some fun. Everything seems fine until the two men get drunk over their own issues as they crash Kelly’s engagement party and later have a heart-to-heart about their own experiences.

The film is about a soldier becoming a messenger to give notices to families of fallen soldier with a hard-ass captain while falling for a woman. That’s essentially the film’s plot as it’s mostly told through a loose form of storytelling. In reality, the film is a character study about a young man trying to deal with his new assignment along with his own issues from the war and at home. For Will Montgomery, he’s leading a complicated life where has to go see doctors about his left eye and at one point, he meets a returning soldier (Jeremy Strong) as that soldier tries to live a life in denial. Stabilizing his life is his assignment to give notices to families though it isn’t easy where at one point, he gives notice an angry father (Steve Buscemi). It’s in this widow named Olivia where Will finds not just comfort but a life outside of duty though he realizes that she is having a hard time with her own issues.

The screenplay that Oren Moverman and co-writer Alessandro Camon not only create a wonderful center into Will’s emotional struggle as well as his conflict in being a man and soldier. The writers also do some study on a few supporting characters, notably Olivia and Stone. Olivia’s reaction to the news of her husband’s death at first is baffling but once Will gets to know her and her son. Olivia is revealed to be just as complicated where there’s a great 8-minute scene of her talking about her late husband. What is revealed isn’t just a turning point for Will but also reveals why Olivia acted so strange about the news.

Then there’s Tony Stone, a man who is a hardened man who is concerned about his duty on the outside. On the inside is someone who is very fragile while dealing with his own issues. A recovering alcoholic for three years who fought on Desert Storm is someone that is just trying to keep things in order while at night, he flirts and sleeps with a bartender (Lisa Joyce). When he and Will go out for some fun, an eventual relapse happens as once the film nears its end. There is a poignant conversation about their own experiences and how hard it was for both of them. Another supporting character, though minor, that gets a bit of attention is Kelly. While she isn’t in the story very much, she does serve as motivation for Will while dealing with the fact that despite her love for him, she is moving on. The script overall is definitely brilliant in its study and looseness for its story.

Moverman’s direction is truly astounding in not just the way he portrays the dramatic elements of the film. It’s also how he avoids clichés and finds something else that doesn’t give in to conventions. For many of the scenes where Will and Tony are to give notices, it’s all presented in a hand-held style that isn’t very shaky. For the rest of the film, it’s all about wide shots and simple shots to complement not just Will’s sense of isolation but also his need to connect. Even as he allows scenes of humor along with other scenes from Will’s perspective about things happening around him.

Moverman also succeeds in fleshing out the relationship Will has that includes the 8-minute scene of Olivia talking about her husband as it’s presented in one single take. It’s a slow but captivating scene as it’s all about the dialogue and restrained acting. It’s Moverman being observant while keeping the camera away as he wants the audience to be engaged by the conversation. The conversations that Moverman shoots which includes Will and Tony’s war stories is presented with few edits so the actors remain in character and just act. The simplicity and non-stylized approach to the direction is definitely wonderful as Moverman creates what is certainly an engaging yet hypnotic directorial debut.

Cinematographer Bobby Bukowski does a great job with the film‘s photography that is mostly straightforward with a heightened brightness for its daytime exterior scenes. Even as the nighttime exterior and interior scenes are shot with dark lights to complement the troubled moods some of the characters are going through as Bukowski’s work is worth noting. Editor Alexander Hall does a superb job with the editing in creating cuts that plays to the sense of longing and emotion in Will’s journey. Even as there’s some rhythmic cuts to play up to reactions while creating a leisured pace throughout the entirety of the film.

Production designer Stephen Beatrice and set decorator Cristina Casanas do some excellent work in the set pieces that includes Olivia’s home and Will’s apartment. Notably the lack of decorations and openness in Will’s apartment that reveals his own isolation. Costume designer Catherine George does a very good job with the costumes from the uniforms Will and Tony wear along with the casual clothes while creating a great red dress for the character of Kelly in her engagement party. Sound editors Leslie Shatz and Javier Bennassar do a fantastic job with the sound from the sparse world of Will‘s apartment to the chaos of the bars he and Tony frequent. Even as it helps with the quiet moments of the film as it’s just about the conversation and the low mix on the surroundings.

The music by Nathan Larson is wonderful for its sparse, guitar driven tone that plays up to Will‘s troubled mood as Larson dominates the score with a plaintive, arpeggio-laden guitar track throughout the film. Music supervisor Tracy McKnight also plays to that sparseness by having music be played on location rather as an accompaniment. Whether it’s a song like Home On the Range where Will and Tony sing drunkenly or music that’s on a bar or the radio. The soundtrack includes music by the Band, David Bowie, Brian Wilson, Rilo Kiley, Clutch, the Hold Steady, Willie Nelson, and other acts.

The casting by Laura Rosenthal and Ali Farrell is definitely spectacular with its array of memorable performances from well-known actors to some very small roles. Among the memorable small roles include Eamonn Walker as Will and Tony’s superior, Michael Chernus as Kelly’s fiancee Alan, Jahmir Duran-Abreau as Olivia’s son Matt, Jeremy Strong as a returning soldier, Fiona Dourif as the returning soldier’s wife, Lindsay Michelle Nader and Merritt Weaver as a couple of girls Will and Tony go out with, and Lisa Joyce as a bartender Tony sleeps with. In the roles of families giving notice, there are memorable appearances from Yaya DaCosta as a girlfriend, Kevin Hagan and Marceline Hugot as an old couple Will meets at a market, Halley Feiffer as a young woman carrying a secret about her boyfriend, and Peter Friedman as that girl’s father.

Steve Buscemi is phenomenal as an angry father who gets a notice. Though it’s a small role, Buscemi’s presence and performance is truly mesmerizing as he channels the anger of a man who just encountered loss as it’s a great performance from the always enjoyable Buscemi. Jena Malone is superb in a small but crucial role as Kelly, Will’s ex-girlfriend. Malone brings a lot of gravitas to a character that is in conflict for her love for Will but also the fact that she’s moved on. Even as there’s moments in her engagement party where she seems really uncomfortable as she could’ve gone over the top but restrains herself as it’s one of her finest performances.

Samantha Morton is amazing as Olivia, a widow who befriends Will as they find comfort in each other’s presence. Particularly the scene where Morton delivers a monologue about her husband as the sense of restraint in the performance as well as the mix of sadness and anger that is very startling. It’s a scene where Morton really shines as she delivers front and center throughout the film as it’s one of her best performances so far. Woody Harrelson is magnificent in his role as Captain Tony Stone. Harrelson brings a hardened exterior to his role of someone just wanting to do his job in a way where he doesn’t have to be emotional. By the time his character isn’t in his role as a soldier, Harrelson brings a fragility to his character that is having a hard time with his own war experience.

Finally, there’s Ben Foster in what is definitely a career-defining performance as Staff Sgt. Will Montgomery. Foster brings an intensity and dramatic weight to his role as a young man dealing with the aftermath of war and the sense of alienation upon his return home. Notably when he is trying to deal with Kelly’s engagement along with his new role as a messenger to families. Yet, Foster also brings some humor in his scenes with Woody Harrelson where they have some fun while he gets to be quiet and relaxed in his scenes with Samantha Morton. It’s a remarkable performance from the young actor who is surely going to be getting more attention in the years to come.

The Messenger is a haunting yet powerful film from Oren Moverman featuring an outstanding leading performance from Ben Foster. Audiences who want to see a war film without any political message or heavy-handed ideas about war will definitely see this as something more refreshing. While it’s not an easy film to watch due to its approach, it is a film that doesn’t go for conventions. Featuring incredible supporting performances and appearances from Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton, Jena Malone, and Steve Buscemi. It’s a film that is very real but also has poignant ideas about what families and soldiers go through with loss. In the end, The Messenger is a brilliant yet chilling film from Oren Moverman.

Oren Moverman Films: Rampart - (Time Out of Mind) - (The Dinner (2017 film))

© thevoid99 2011

I'm Not There

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 12/5/07 w/ Additional Edits.

Bob Dylan is known to the world as a poet, a folk singer, a voice for a generation, a rebel, an innovator, an icon, and everything else he's been called. Since his debut in the early 1960s, Dylan wrote and sang anthems about changing the world early in his career only to evolve by going electric, singing about whatever is on his mind and putting on a different persona. By 2007, he remains an icon revered by the world as his last album in 2006, Modern Times debuted at #1 in the Billboard 200 album charts proving his staying power through changing musical trends and the harsh world of the music industry. The story of Dylan is a journey that is sprawling and if it was made into a film, how would it be told? Iconic indie-auteur Todd Haynes has that answer in his new film about Bob Dylan named after one of his most bootlegged songs entitled I'm Not There.

Directed by Todd Haynes based on his screen story with a script he co-wrote with Oren Moverman, I'm Not There tells the story of the life of Bob Dylan through exaggerations, truths, legends, and other tales through seven periods of his life. In the role of Bob Dylan, Haynes devised a plan to hire not one but six individuals to play Robert Zimmerman aka Bob Dylan through the different periods of his life. In those six include his Velvet Goldmine star Christian Bale along with Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw, and Marcus Carl Franklin. Also starring Haynes' regular Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, Charlotte Gainsbourg, David Cross, and Bruce Greenwood. I'm Not There is a whimsical, original, and inspiring masterpiece from Todd Haynes and company.

A young boy calling himself Woody Guthrie (Marcus Carl Franklin) arrives on a train singing songs he claimed were his own as he talks about protests and such. Yet, as he jams with other musicians and hangs out with poor people, a woman tells him that he's singing songs from a different time as it is 1959. After getting kicked out of a train and being found by a rich couple, he is revealed to be a runaway juvenile as Woody is in search of his identity. A few years later at the Greenwich folk music scene, a new singer-songwriter named Jack Rollins (Christian Bale) became the wunderkind of the scene. With help of a folk singer named Alice (Julianne Moore), Rollins became a reluctant folk star.

With Rollins' fame rising, an actor named Robbie Clark (Heath Ledger) plays the folk singer as he falls for a Frenchwoman named Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) as they have a blissful relationship. Yet, as Clark's fame rise, he struggles with it as it would eventually take a toll on his marriage to Claire. With Rollins disappearing, a singer named Jude Quinn (Cate Blanchett) shocks an audience at a New England music festival by playing electric instruments and angering the crowd. During a tour in England, Jude gets the Beatles high on dope, evades the attention of movie star Coco Rivington (Michelle Williams) and talks to a journalist (Bruce Greenwood) during a huge interview for the BBC. With Jude changing gears on his music, he is facing a lot of heat from fans who claimed that he's betrayed the folk music scene while a man named Arthur (Ben Whishaw) is interviewed about why he isn’t singing protest music. Arthur instead, rambles on about what is going on while not giving a straight answer.

While Robbie's marriage to Claire is disintegrating and Jack Rollins disappears, a reclusive man named Billy (Richard Gere) is hiding in the woods unaware that a man named Pat Garrett (Bruce Greenwood) is hunting for him. While Billy is looking at the Western town in the middle of the woods, he wonder why he left the world and what happened to this gift he once had. Meanwhile, Jack Rollins returns as Pastor John who then sings nothing but Christian music.

Whenever a film biography of a musician or an artist is made. There's a traditional structure. Musician comes from humble beginnings, struggles to make it. Gets discovered, sign to a record deal. Becomes a huge success, gets involved with all the trappings of stardom. Then comes the decline and eventual resurrection and comeback. Yet, with someone as unique as Bob Dylan, that's a structure that is too easy to tell and at the same, the idea of one person playing Bob Dylan couldn't work. Why? It's because Bob Dylan was an individual who evolved through whatever moment he's in. In many ways, Dylan is just trying to be himself through whatever phase he's in his peculiar, unique life.

This is something Todd Haynes understood since a film about the life of Bob Dylan isn't going to work through conventional means because it's too predictable and it's been told so many times through the traditional medium of what music bio-pics are going through. It's a genre that at the moment is becoming not just stale but also parody, which is the case of the upcoming film Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. So, what is there to do? If a movie is going to be made about Bob Dylan, certain periods of his life has to be shown which includes his early folk years in the early 60s, his controversial move going to electric, his personal life, his own rambling interviews, his reclusive period in the early 70s, and his Christianity phase in the late 70s. One actor couldn't do all of those periods as well as play up to the different personas of Dylan. That's why Todd Haynes has chosen to employ six different actors for the film. Two British actors, one Welsh and the other English. Two Australian actors, man and woman. Two American actors, a 50-year old white man and a 13-year old African-American child.

While the idea of using multiple actors for one role isn't an entirely original idea. The approach Haynes and co-writer Oren Moverman chose works to show each persona and period of Dylan's life. While the entire film is told in non-linear fashion in tradition to Dylan's narrative style of writing. Each period and persona is very different not just look but in performance. While the stories move back and forth, it unveils each period to where the character is at and how they're reacting at the moment. The story of Woody is based on Dylan's exaggerations from Dylan to journalists and people during folk scene in Greenwich as the look of the boy with his hat is a reference to hat Dylan wore on his first album. Jack Rollins' story is about Dylan in his early rise to fame from the folk scene and his moment of controversy during a Civil Rights Award.

The story of Jude is partially based on the D.A. Pennebaker film Dont Look Back but mostly insprired by the rarely seen documentary Eat The Document about Dylan's tour of the U.K. while making references to his friendship with Allen Ginsberg (David Cross) and his rumored affair with Edie Sedgwick. Robbie's story is about Dylan's personal life in his relationship with Claire who is a fictional character based on his 1960s girlfriend Suze Rotolo and wife Sara Lownds with a subtle reference to his 1975 album Blood on the Tracks. The character of Arthur has only one scene which is about Dylan interrogated about his evolution as the character rambles about his life and view of things. The story of Billy is a reference to Dylan's country music exploration as well as the film Dylan starred in Sam Peckinpah's Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid.

Haynes and Moverman understood what those periods and phases in Dylan's life meant and they certainly couldn't move on after Dylan's period when became a Christian. Dylan in the 80s would be boring and too predictable while the story of Dylan now doesn't seem that interesting and it's best for only Dylan himself to tell that part of the story. Haynes understands that while the film's plot is Dylan through the periods of his own life. The plot couldn't be very simple as it's presented on screen. Haynes' direction is superb and extremely unconventional. With the black-and-white footage on the characters of Arthur, Jude, and parts of Jack and the rest of the story on color. While mainstream audiences might feel baffled and confused by the approach, it's only because this is how Dylan lived his life.

Haynes' look for the Woody/Billy worlds really gets the film in full circle as Woody is a boy finding his identity with Billy running away from that world only to rediscover it. Billy's world is essentially a fantasy world in the way he sees things as if he is Billy the Kid. With everyone wearing clown makeup and a giraffe appears, it's all because it's part of Billy's fantasy only to be aware that Pat Garrett is coming to get him. The Jude sequence which is based on the Pennebaker documentary includes a moment of fantasy as if Jude is living a dream world while the world of Robbie shows a scene of the man dealing with his fame.

The result of the whole film is extremely avant-garde and whimsical yet it works to convey the sense of evolution in Dylan's life. Through the wide lenses, super 8 films, grainy footage, and everything else. It's an understanding of where Bob Dylan was and is in his life as he goes from one world to another. Haynes' direction through each different look is distinctive and imaginative as like the in the script and in what Dylan has said in the film's trailer. All I Can Do Is Be Me. Whoever That Is. That is what the film is about and its shows that before David Bowie, before Cher, before Elvis Costello, and before Madonna. Bob Dylan was the godfather of reinvention and with Todd Haynes' direction, it reveals on who this legendary man is.

Cinematographer Edward Lachman creates a look that is unique to each period of the film with Arthur's segment shot in grainy, 16mm black-and-white footage as if he's part of an interrogation, Jude shot in gorgeous black-and-white to emphasis the documentary style of Dont Look Back, and the TV, black-and-white footage of Jack Rollins that is shot in grainy color as if the whole segment is a documentary. For the rest of the film, the Robbie story is mostly shot with tinted blue palettes and sepia-toned colors to convey the world he was in as well as his troubled mood. Lachman's photography is given higher palettes of sepia for the dream-like look of both the Billy and Woody segments while the Pastor Jack sequence is more in the look of 70s style TV. Lachman's photography is extremely superb and truly one of the year's best.

Editor Jay Rabinowitz, who took over for the late James Lyon (whom the film was dedicated to), plays to the similar style of the film with use of jump-cuts for the Jude sequence, more traditional cuts in other parts while playing to the film's non-linear tone as his editing overall is amazing. Production designer Judy Becker does amazing work in creating the different look and times of the film from the delapitated world of Billy to the 70s like world of paintings and furniture in Robbie's world and the whimsical, stylish world of swinging 60s in Jude's world. Becker's production design is extraordinarily brilliant. Costume designer John A. Dunn does great work with the different looks of the film that mimic all the album covers, clothes, and shoes that Dylan was wearing those different periods. Jean-Jacques Dion does great work with the film's hair with some of the actors sporting Dylan-like hairdo while Christian Bale gets to sport a Jew-fro as Pastor John that looks hilarious.

Sound editor Robert Jackson does amazing work in capturing the atmosphere of each period through the waves of boos and music through the scene of Jude playing electric at a folk music show. Special effects supervisor Louis Craig and visual effects supervisor Louis Morin does great work in creating the weird, whimsical world for both Jude and Billy's own fantasies. The film's soundtrack supervised by Jim Dunbar and Randall Poster features an amazing soundtrack featuring original cuts by Dylan including the unreleased title track plus various covers performed by Sonic Youth, Cat Power, John Doe, Stephen Malkmus, Mason Jennings, Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Calexio, Willie Nelson, and many more. Each song is used to convey the period and world of Dylan's life as it emphasizes his evolution with Doe, Malkmus, and Jennings singing the songs during the period of Jude and Jack Rollins with Marcus Carl Franklin doing his own singing while jamming with Richie Havens.

Finally, we have the film's cast that is wonderfully assembled by Laura Rosenthal. Featuring appearances from Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth as a folk singer discussing Jack Rollins, Craig Thomas as Hewey Newton and Benz Antoine as Bobby Seale of the Black Panther party who listen to Dylan's song while being massaged, Jane Wheeler as a TV host doing a profile on Rollins, Allison Folland as a journalist interviewing Robbie, Don Francks and Roc LaFortune as Hobos Woody meets, Richie Havens as a musician Woody jams with, Kim Roberts as the woman who gives Woody advice on what he should sing, Gabrielle Marcoux and Jessey LaFlamme as Robbie & Claire's daughters, Mark Camacho as Jude's manager Norman, and Kris Kristofferson as the narrator for film's opening sequence.

Yolonda Ross gives a brief but fine performance as Angela, based on Mary Alice Artes, who introduced Jack to Christianity and made him Pastor John while Julianne Moore plays a Joan Baez-like persona as a woman nurtured Jack's talents only to feel betrayed by him. David Cross is funny as Allen Ginsberg who has a great scene about Jude's possible selling out claiming he sold out to God in a reference to a Dylan concert in Berkeley 1965. Bruce Greenwood is great in a dual role as a British journalist who is the supposed inspiration to the song Ballad of The Thin Man while also playing the aging Pat Garrett in the Billy sequence. Michelle Williams is wonderfully sexy as Coco Rivington, an Edie Sedgwick-like actress who teases Jude while acting like a diva. The film's best non-Dylan performance is truly Charlotte Gainsbourg as Claire, the mix of Suze Rotolo and Sarah Lownds who loved Robbie but couldn't face with him not at home or his attraction to other women as she would become the muse for Dylan's Blood on the Tracks. Gainsbourg's performance is just amazing showing her evolution as the woman who was Robbie's soulmate to the unhappy housewife dealing with his fame.

Marcus Carl Franklin gives a superb, upbeat performance as Woody, a young Dylan who is trying to find his own identity, tell false stories and such while jamming along with other musicians and for other people. Franklin's performance is a real breakthrough as he proves he can sing and play while grabbing the attention early in the film. Ben Whishaw is excellent as Arthur, the Dylan who is interviewed as he rambles on incoherently while not giving any straight answers. Though Whishaw is only in one entire segment, he does the most to make himself memorable. Christian Bale is brilliant as the shy, evasive Jack Rollins as he performs while trying to be controversial at the same time. Bale's performance is the one that mimics Dylan the most in voice while he shows great humor in sporting a Jew-fro as Pastor John while his performance in inspirational proving that Dylan's Christianity phase isn’t something to make fun of.

Richard Gere gives a very laconic, subtle performance as Billy as he wanders around riding a horse, looking for his dog, and trying to see what is going on. Gere doesn't do any traditional, Hollywood style of acting as he is a man who does his best work when he's quiet while pondering his own existence as the veteran actor gives a masterful performance. Heath Ledger is great as the conflicted Robbie, an actor who is tempted by women and fame as he struggles with being a family man. Ledger's performance is extremely memorable while mimicking Dylan's voice in a unique way that proves his performance in Brokeback Mountain by Ang Lee was no fluke.

The film's best performance and certainly the most entertaining of all is Cate Blanchett as Jude Quinn. Wearing a sock that she put in her pants to walk and act like a man, Blanchett brings a lot of humor, angst, and attitude to the character as tries to evade Coco, hang out with Allen Ginsberg, and do all sorts of stuff. Blanchett's performance is truly a marvel to watch as she brings Dylan to life whether he's playing electric or watching news reels saying "I can't take anymore of this man" and saying some nasty things including comments about Coco's... you know. Blanchett is just fun to watch from start to finish and it's truly one of the best performances ever shown on cinema.

***Updated 6/6/08 for DVD Info & Special Features***

The Region 1 2-disc Collector's Edition DVD of I'm Not There presents the film in its original aspect theatrical ratio and in the widescreen format. With the film sound in 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound in English for the film and the second disc in Stereo Surround Sound. The DVD also include English and Spanish subtitle for the film as well as English for the hearing impaired in both discs. The first disc is the actual feature film itself along with a slew of special features. First is a series of text introductions to the film. The first entitled Who's Not There: Six Faces of Dylan from Rolling Stone magazine reveals the six actors who play the personalities of Bob Dylan. The second entitled Tangled Up In Clues by Los Angeles Times music writer Ann Powers who explores the film through its various sources on its characters, look, costumes, and such. The first two text came from a CD-booklet of sorts that accompanied the film from its theatrical release. The third text entitled Encoding An Entertaining Enigma is pretty much a summary of the film and its characters.

The fourth and final piece of text introduction comes from famed music critic Greil Marcus. The writer who is also an avid fan of Dylan and wrote a book about The Basement Tapes recordings in a book entitled Invisible Republic writes down notes on this film. Entitled A Dream That Doesn't Demand Explanation is essentially Marcus explaining what Haynes wanted to do for the film as well as the mystery of Dylan itself through the various persona and characters being played on film. Marcus also touches on the film's title, which is an unreleased bootleg made during The Basement Tapes recordings. Now officially available in the film’s soundtrack, Marcus reveals the song's sense of mystery while though it's incomplete with Dylan just singing what he can come up with in his head. Marcus' notes are truly extraordinary for what the audience needed for the film.

The feature-length audio commentary by Todd Haynes is truly one of the most informative and enjoyable commentaries ever heard. Haynes discusses about the many mysteries and references of Dylan that's shown throughout the film. He also discusses Dylan's cultural impact in the 1960s and what he think that Dylan's motorcycle crash in 1966 really represented in relation to what was going on at the time. He also reveals why he didn't cover Dylan in the 1980s, 1990s, and so forth. What he revealed is that because of Dylan's 1966 crash, Dylan retreated away from the public and the media to live a private life and when the character of Billy hops on that train at the end of the film just as it began with Woody on the train. It shows that Dylan from 1962-1966 was definitely a high-water mark in pop culture and by the time he crashed, he stopped being this phenomenon and lived in his own terms as he's doing now in his Never-Ending Tour.

Haynes also reveals some of the film's technical tidbits while complementing the talents of his collaborators like producer Christine Vachon, cinematographer Edward Lachman, production designer Judy Becker, and editor Jay Rabinowitz among others. He also revealed the various influences he had for the film that included Federico Fellini and Jean-Luc Godard for its different look. He also talks about the actors he got for the film. Of the most professional, Christian Bale was the most serious about playing Dylan where during his scenes with Julianne Moore for the pictures, Moore ended up laughing through most of it as Haynes jokingly said she was very unprofessional.

Haynes also talked about Marcus Carl Franklin and Ben Whishaw, whom he both auditioned and enjoyed working with while with Richard Gere, he hired him not just because of his talent but of his filmography, notably Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven. With Gere, Haynes told Gere to think of those early years while Gere helped him in finding a look for the town of Riddle in those segments. Haynes' discussion on Cate Blanchett were fun to hear as he talked about Blanchett's performance with such delight while revealing that she's the closest thing to looking like Dylan. Some of her performance, Haynes, revealed was improvised including her dance with David Cross as Allen Ginsberg.

Haynes complemented the work of Charlotte Gainsbourg for her performance of Claire who he felt did everything that a great actor, actress does in the tradition of Meryl Streep. Someone who doesn't know what to do when they're about to play a character as if they don't know how to act to begin with. Then there's Heath Ledger in whom, Haynes sadly spoke about since his untimely, tragic death back in January of 2008. Haynes talked about Ledger's plan to create a bio-pic on Nick Drake that he wanted to direct but didn't want to delve into the same type of structure that often hinders most bio-pics. Ledger, originally was supposed to take a break from acting to do the Drake project but once he worked with Haynes on this film. Ledger felt it would help him create the idea on his Drake project. Haynes talked about the close friendship he had with Ledger while watching those scenes as he admits to being very sad about his death.

The second disc includes a huge amounts of special features separated into four different sections. The first one is an entire collection of trailers featuring the two theatrical trailers for the film as well as unreleased trailers. The unreleased trailers involve all the six actors playing Dylan carrying large flash cards to the classic song Subterranean Homesick Blues in the same presentation that its seminal video did for D.A. Pennebaker's Dont Look Back. There's eight versions of that trailer, six of them showing each individual actor carrying and throwing cardboard signs and two versions, short and long, with all the actors involved from their footage. It's a great trailer to emphasize the spirit of Dylan.

The second section entitled From the Edit Room features a slew of deleted scenes, alternate takes, extended sequences, and many more. The first segment is two audition tapes for Ben Whishaw and Marcus Carl Franklin. Franklin's audition with one of the casting people showed Franklin's charismatic, charming performance as he clearly plays the role of Woody with such ease as if he was a total natural. Whishaw's audition, taped at a restaurant, showed the British actor doing a passable American accent while giving the presence that was needed for his character. Two deleted scenes emerge in the film totally less than five minutes. First is a scene from Jude Quinn's segment as Jude, burned out and sick from pills is surrounded by two men arguing as they seem to recognize the singer. The second deleted scene from Billy the Kid's segment involves Billy running into a family with a dead pony and talking to a woman asking if she'a seen his dog, who ran from him.

Next is the extended/alternate scenes that are essentially the full-length performances of the songs performed in the film like Tombstone Blues with Ritchie Haven and Marcus Carl Franklin, The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll by Christian Bale miming the voice of Mason Jennings, Bale as Pastor John for Pressing On as he's miming the voice of John Doe, and Goin' To Acapulco in the Billy the Kid segment sung by Jim James of My Morning Jacket backed by Calexico.

These extended scenes and performances each do serve as great music videos as the songs themselves prove to be just as powerful as the scenes themselves. The four-minute outtakes segment is essentially a gag reel that shows all the mistakes and such that happens on the film through most of the production that included director Todd Haynes in the shot they were supposed to be shooting, a horse relieving and defecating, and other funny hijinks.

The fifth and final part of the post-production section is a touching tribute to Heath Ledger in tune to Bob Dylan's Tomorrow Is A Long Time. It opens with a deleted scene of Ledger playing the Robbie Clark character in a museum taking shots at the place with Charlotte Gainsbourg and then loads of footage and outtakes involving Ledger that proves to be extremely touching and a fitting tribute to the recently departed actor.

The third section entitled Look Back consists of three segments including the film's red carpet premiere in New York City, the making of the soundtrack, and a conversation with Todd Haynes. First is the three-minute red carpet premiere in NYC on November 13, 2007 that features brief interviews with Todd Haynes, actors Richard Gere, Julianne Moore, and Heath Ledger, and musician John Doe of X as they all talk about the film and Dylan. The twenty-one minute making-of soundtrack segment featuring Haynes, actor Marcus Carl Franklin, and the soundtrack’s producers Joe Henry, Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo, and Calexico's Joey Burns. Haynes discusses the plan to create a soundtrack for the film where Joe Henry said that the soundtrack was in the works at the time the film was in production. With Henry focusing on the Woody segment, Ranaldo on the Jude segment, and Burns on the Billy the Kid segment. Each producer were given the task of reinventing or reinterpreting the songs they’re given as they also try to capture each period.

Henry worked closely with Marcus Carl Franklin on the music they were making as Franklin, who is a musician himself, wanted to be faithful to Dylan's music and found himself more influenced by Dylan than ever. During filming, they contacted Richie Havens for Tombstone Blues with Franklin that ended up being an improvised jam with Havens later recording his own version for the film's soundtrack. Ranaldo wanted to update the songs he was given as he called on Eddie Vedder to sing All Along the Watchtowers and brought in Tom Verlaine for Cold Irons Bound while he along with several musicians including Verlaine and Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley formed the Million Dollar Bashers. For the singing voice of Jude, they called in Stephen Malkamus of Pavement to sing just so he can capture that style of Dylan's vocals at the time.

Joey Burns of Calexico aimed for an Old World feel for the music that is more in the tradition of Americana as he called in Jim James of My Morning Jacket to cover Goin' To Acapulco, a song that isn't considered to be a major Dylan song among fans. Yet, its reinterpretation made it a surprise as did another obscure Dylan song, Pressing On from his Christian period. Ranaldo, who is an admitted super-Dylan freak, admits to not being grabbed on by that song in its original form but when heard John Doe's version, he was blown away and rediscovered the original song. Haynes said that the reinterpretation of these songs is great for even the hardcore Dylan fan to rediscover proving that they can be done in so many different ways.

The forty-three minute conversation with Todd Haynes segment is a collection of interviews with the director talking about Bob Dylan, the film, and how he made it. He revealed that in 2000, after living in New York City for 15 years. He decided to move to Portland, Oregon and went on a cross-country road trip where he brought a bunch of Bob Dylan music on the road. It was at that time, he was about to work on Far from Heaven as he began to re-discover Bob Dylan and also went through various bootlegs including the complete Basement Tapes recordings. After getting a collection of American folk music and early Americana, Haynes got the idea to create a Dylan film.

Yet, he and producer Christine Vachon were very careful about approaching an idea on making a film about Dylan. After going through troubling experiences with getting the music rights since Haynes' 1987 cult-short Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story is no longer being seen in public because of Richard Carpenter's refusal to let the music be used in the short and such. Haynes also went through similar trouble with Velvet Goldmine back in 1998 when David Bowie refused to give him rights for the music. Haynes contacted Dylan's eldest son Jesse, who is also a film director, and Dylan's manager Jeff Rosen about the idea. He gave them a description and then he had to write an idea about the project with some specific instructions as Rosen and Jesse Dylan gave the idea to Bob Dylan, who approved.

The film, shot in Montreal, was not easy to make because of a limited budget and shooting schedule while Haynes revealed that the actors knew they were in for a challenge in playing the Dylan parts. Haynes revealed that writing the script with Oren Moverman wasn't easy to do because Haynes wanted to tell so much of Dylan's story from the 1960s while not leaning towards the traditional bio-pic. He also revealed that Moverman, who is Israeli, really got into Dylan's Christian period and had some understanding into why Dylan became a Christian for a brief period. The only actor Haynes wrote in mind for one of the characters was Charlotte Gainsbourg in the role of Claire, as Haynes admits, she almost wanted to turn him straight. With everyone else, it was through the casting process as it proved to be a challenge but also fruitful in terms of its collaboration. It's a wonderful interview that doesn't get boring as Haynes is talking through film festival conferences, promotional interviews, and such.

The fourth section of the special features is Dylanography, a collection of text and articles exploring Dylan and notes of the film. The first is a sixty-six page article from New York Times magazine writer Robert Sullivan entitled This is Not a Bob Dylan Movie about the process Todd Haynes had to go through in making the film as well as his own filmography. It's an informative article that explored how much Haynes took into making this film about Bob Dylan while trying not to make into a conventional bio-pic. The next article is Haynes' one-page proposal to Bob Dylan on his project that was original titled I'm Not There: Suppositions on a Film Concerning Dylan that shows the plans that he was going to do along with the text that he used where originally, there was seven characters. The character that never made it to the final cut was Charlie, a Greenwich kid that was supposed to be a link between the Woody Guthrie and Jack Rollins character. Next is a chronology on Bob Dylan that explores the time line and events of his life from his birth in 1943 to the release of his last studio album Modern Times in 2006.

The next three sections on Dylan are a collection of his work in music, film, and literature. The discography of Dylan explores every album he did up till 2006 including live albums, box sets, and the bootleg series. The filmography section explores the different section of Dylan on film including the documentaries like D.A. Pennebaker's Dont Look Back, the rarely-seen Eat the Document, and Martin Scorsese's 2005 documentary No Direction Home, concert films like The Last Waltz by Scorsese and two Dylan concert videos like Bob Dylan in Concert from 1986 and the 30th Anniversary concert in 1992. Plus listed are the film's he's acted like Sam Peckinpah's Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, 1978's Renaldo & Clara that he directed, Hearts of Fire from 1987, 1990's Catchfire, 1999's Paradise Cove, and 2003's Masked & Anonymous by comedian Larry David.

The bibliography section includes the five books Dylan wrote like Tarantula, Writings & Drawings, Lyrics, 1962-2001, Chronicles Vol. 1, and Drawn Blank plus thirty books about Bob Dylan himself and it's a big collection. The filmmaker's notes is a collection of drawings and story boards about the compositions and shot set-ups about the film. Finally, there's a stills gallery in six separate segments to represent each of the six personalities that play Bob Dylan. Shown in black and white and a bit in color, it's a wonderful collection of the photos of the actors and on-set production that goes on. The overall special features content of the DVD is truly amazing for not just people who enjoy the film. It's also a must-have for Dylan fans while paying tribute to the late Heath Ledger.

***End of DVD Tidbits***

With the music bio-pic genre starting to run out of ideas, I'm Not There is an amazing, superb, and truly original film from Todd Haynes and company. With a great cast led by Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Ben Whishaw, and Marcus Carl Franklin as Bob Dylan, it's a film experience that has to be seen on the big screen. While mainstream audiences might be baffled by the film's unconventional tone, anyone who understands Bob Dylan and his music will get it very easily while seeing things like Pete Seeger attempting to cut the wires with an ax (which wasn't true but a great legend) happen. While it's a film that subverts expectations, the result overall is truly amazing. For a film that defies conventions and tradition in the same way Bob Dylan lived his life in those times, I'm Not There is the film to go see.

Todd Haynes Films: Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story - Poison - Dottie Gets Spanked - Safe - Velvet Goldmine - Far from Heaven - Mildred Pierce (TV miniseries) - Carol - (Wonderstruck) - The Auteurs #3: Todd Haynes

Related: Dont Look Back - No Direction Home - I'm Not There OST - Trouble No More

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