No challenge is too great for critically acclaimed and innovative director Todd Haynes. He gained notoriety for his earlier films SUPERSTAR: THE KAREN CARPENTER STORY and POISON, and continued to stardom with his unique storytelling style in films like VELVET GOLDMINE and FAR FROM HEAVEN. With his next film, I’M NOT THERE, a perseverant Haynes triumphs as the first director to receive a green light from Bob Dylan to make a biographical film reflecting seven distinct stages of the legendary musician’s life.
The biopic is inspired by Dylan’s music and his ability to reinvent himself throughout the different stages in his life. Recruiting the finest actors in Hollywood, Haynes assembles and recreates seven subplots played by Marcus Carl Franklin as the young romantic, Ben Wishaw as the enigma, Heath Ledger as the restless lover, Christian Bale as the prophet and later spiritualist, Richard Gere as the lone gun and Cate Blanchett as the innovator. All performances are equally relevant and hypnotizing but Blanchett’s metamorphosis is so uncanny, it will leave you speechless. I met with Haynes last week who enthusiastically talked about structuring the film, the various characters, convincing Blanchett to impersonate a man, and getting Dylan’s nod of approval. Check out what he had to say.