I’m Not There

Who is Bob Dylan? Rather than answering this question, I’m Not There prefers to ask it, over and over again. It provides no definite answer, offering only conjectures about a personal, mysterious man mythologized by a society desperate to define an undefinable person.

Most biopics use cheap psychology to simplify their subject’s motivations and craft a predictably uplifting message of perseverance in the face of adversity. Ray, Walk the Line, Ali, Man on the Moon, and The Hurricane are fine films that tell captivating stories, but their characters and chronologies are stretched and molded to fit our own expectations of who someone is or should be. They would have you believe that everyone’s life falls into three acts of rise, fall, and redemption. Dylan has spent his entire career avoiding pigeonholes, so it’s only right that this expressionistic exploration doesn’t put him in one. Heck, they don’t even use his name to identify the protagonist(s). To do so would be dishonest because I’m Not There is more about the idea of Bob Dylan than it is about the man himself. The six actors we see portraying the Dylan characters on screen represent the various roles he has played in his life – the student, the fresh voice of a generation, the husband, the icon, the evangelical, the isolationist. He’s old and young, male and female, black and white, cynical and optimistic. He’s everyone, and he’s no one. He’s there, but he’s not.

Putting your finger on such a kaleidoscopic man is fruitless, especially when his public persona may or may not reflect his actual life. Dylan is a balladeer known to play with the facts, and this film’s approach acknowledges that the image of Bob Dylan is far more important and everlasting than the truth. At one point, Cate Blanchett’s Jude tells a critic, “I know more about you than you will ever know about me,” a statement supported by the way Dylan can pen songs that connect with millions of people, yet nobody really knows what makes the man tick. Screenwriter and director Todd Haynes doesn’t purport to know either, preferring to focus on his cultural impact rather than his life events and motivations. The one literal element of I’m Not There is the music, which is appropriate since it’s the only aspect of Dylan that has been shared regularly and openly, the only part of him we know to be true. I’m Not There is a bold, refreshing vision of a person’s impact on society, and how that story can be told.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Watching Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is like pulling out a favorite T-shirt that has been hanging in your closet for years. You might enjoy wearing it for a while, but eventually the nostalgia wears off and you soon realize that it doesn’t fit the same way it used to.

After 19 years of waiting for a fourth installment in the Indiana Jones series, it’s fair to say that almost any film would have failed to meet expectations. The parties involved – primarily Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Harrison Ford – have wanted to made a new film since Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade wrapped in 1989, but they were unable to settle on a storyline, schedule, casting, and all of the details involved in extending one of the most popular franchises in history. Fanboys have spent the better part of two decades speculating about the progress of the film, chatting about what characters would be involved and when it might finally start production. Spielberg, Lucas, and Ford stoked the fire constantly, talking about how they were all eager to make a fourth film if they could finally agree on a direction. Audiences are now expecting an experience that will blow them away, which led George Lucas to rightfully caution people before the release by saying, “It’s only a movie.” After all, otherworldly expectations and subsequent disappointment is familiar territory for George Lucas’ extended film franchises.

It’s unfair to judge Crystal Skull based on the quality of its predecessors but it’s only natural to do so, particularly for someone like me who grew up with the films and have a certain “Indy aesthetic” burned into my brain. But before describing what Crystal Skull lacks compared to the earlier films, let me first extol its virtues. For starters, the whole gang is back and they are in full storytelling mode. The movie is genuinely entertaining, delivering a strong blend of action, humor, and romance as the adventures jump from New Mexico to New York to Peru. It’s clear that everyone had a lot of fun making the movie; such visible joy is rare to see on screen but when a filmmaker captures that element, it’s contagious. You will be excited, you will laugh, you will probably enjoy yourself.

However, some of the magic is missing. At times, it feels as though we are watching rehearsals or screen tests rather than the finished product. You can see the potential, but certain ideas aren’t fully fleshed out or executed in the most effective way. The one-liners and sly remarks don’t roll of Harrison Ford’s tongue the way they used to, which is probably attributable to Ford’s descent over the last ten years rather than any weaknesses with the script. Ford appears rusty and he tries too hard, a strategy that backfires because his greatest strength has always been his ability to “act” as little as possible and make his characters simple and accessible.

Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), makes a welcome return to the series but the character is watered down compared to the spark plug that matched Indy’s gruff attitude, stubbornness, and wit in Raiders of the Lost Ark. This installment reduces her to a doe-eyed plot device whose feisty attitude is unconvincing. Oddly, the bright spots are those actors that are new to the series – Shia LaBeouf, Jim Broadbent, John Hurt, Ray Winstone and even Cate Blanchett as an appropriately exaggerated Soviet agent all seem very comfortable with the material. LaBeouf, who shares many of Ford’s strengths, is particularly strong and given his favored status in the eyes of Spielberg, he may inherit the franchise someday. He proves that he’s up to the task.

The production feels very claustrophobic, clearly having been filmed mostly on sound stage with extensive use of green screen and CGI. The earlier films capitalize on the exotic nature of Indy’s world travels, taking advantage of exotic locations in Egypt, India, Turkey, and Venice (or at least convincing substitutes for those locations). By comparison, Crystal Skull‘s settings feel more like a theme park than the real deal and fail to inspire the imagination in the same way. There is no substitute for genuine scenery.

At the end of day, however, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is still a reasonably entertaining adventure film that millions of people will enjoy. I hope the character’s resurrection will introduce this wonderful series to younger audiences and help sustain one of cinema’s greatest heroes. And every once in a while, it’s nice to break out that comfy old T-shirt, even if the stains and holes belie its previous greatness.