The film I'm Not There has a reoccurring theme of identity. Through out the film, all of the characters portraying Bob Dylan are questioned about what it's like to be famous and what he thinks of his fans. Dylan's characters usually refrain from answering these questions by mirroring them back to the interviewer.
For example, when Cate Blanchett's character is in the car with the reporter from BBC, he is persistent in asking Dylan these questions and she only replies with a mirrored reflection of the same. The fact that this journalist nags Dylan constantly and seems to get under his skin could possibly be because Dylan was unsure of the answers.When Dylan is exposed in the year book, it appears to humiliate him. It is an example of Dylan having changed from those times. That younger version of him is not who he is now.
Heath Ledgers character also struggled with emotions of being famous and how he might have gotten lost in the world of stardom. Over the course of Dylan's life, he gave a voice to many generations and many people searching for their own true meaning. It would be hard on anyone to take on that responsibility, especially if one is uncertain about their own identity.
Richard Gere's character plays an old Western hero who is attempting to hide his once notorious identity in the woods around an old town. Until his old hunter has sniffed him out in the town and is still on a mission to bring him down. At one point, Gere even states " I don't know who I am most of the time" as he rides away on the escape train.
Perhaps this theme of identity corresponds with Dylan's own true uncertainty in his own life or maybe a message about stars and how they are treated when in reality they are only the same as the rest of us. Either way, the film, though long and drawn out, is successful in portraying this thought.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Ricky,
You've structured this essay approriately, in that you make a claim and then provide examples. I want to push you further, though. I think your main assertion - that the film is about identity - is easy to support but also a bit obvious. I think you probably have more you can say about it, and encourage you to dig deeper. Your point about each character being engaged in some sort of interrogation, and then reflecting questions back to the interrogator is a good observation and is probably the point of some insight you were having...stick with that thought, and elaborate! For example, by portraying characters in this way, what is Haynes saying about identity? Can you get more specific with your observations?
Keep at it.
Post a Comment