SIX distinct faces chronicling the life of one extraordinary man. It is only through the shades of six actors that the true story of music maestro Bob Dylan can be told in Hollywood blockbuster I'm Not There . In one of the most highly-sought after and challenging roles in film history, Australian stars Cate Blanchett and Heath Ledger proved their acting worth when they secured roles to portray one of the world's most influential songwriters.
Far from a biopic of the legendary performer, I'm Not There is a mediation on the singer, with his various personas throughout the decades played by the golden six - Heath Ledger, Cate Blanchett, screen veteran Richard Gere, British sensation Ben Whishaw, Welshman Christian Bale and a 10-year-old African American actor named Marcus Carl Franklin, who plays Dylan as a Woody Guthrie-like hobo. Ms Blanchett, who has admitted to an unhealthy obsession with the It Ain't Me Babe , Mr Tambourine Man and Blowin' In The Wind singer while preparing for the role, yesterday walked the red carpet with Richard Gere at the New York Film Festival to spruik the film. After more than eight years in the making, director Todd Haynes's move to cast Ms Blanchett, 38, as the sunglasses clad, chain-smoking rocker may have been seen as daring, but is proving a blessing.
The Sydney-based actress's electrifying turn as Bob Dylan has already sparked Academy Award nomination buzz, with indie-film bigwig Harvey Weinstein going as far as to say he would shoot himself if she wasn't in contention for best actress. The idea of multiple actors and multiple characters ..
. was probably getting closer to what he (Dylan) really was and what he really stood for, than any conventional approach could have done, Mr Haynes said. Ben Whishaw, 26, portrays the cynical young Dylan who would soon become the token protest singer played by Christian Bale, while Heath Ledger plays the tortured family man with Richard Gere rounding off the Dylan years as Billy the kid - fleeing law, judgement and his past.
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