Todd Haynes is an interesting yet sporadic director, he made a little film I really liked back in 1995 called ‘Safe‘ with Julian Moore, then ‘The Velvet Goldmine’ which was ok (what can I tell you .. the glam era doesn’t interest me) and the film ‘How to make your girlfriend cry’ AKA ‘Far from Heaven‘. Haynes also writes the scripts for his films so his lack of output is understandable.

His latest film ‘I’m Not There’ is a sort of ‘life and times of Bob Dylan’, using several different actors (and actresses) to play the man himself; Christian Bale, Ben Whishaw, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Marcus Carl Franklin and Cate Blanchett.

Here’s how the wanky plot synopsis describes it:

Formerly going by the title of “I’m Not There: Suppositions on a Film Concerning Dylan”, this is a film about the life of Bob Dylan. The film follows seven characters, each embodying a different aspect of Dylan’s life story and music. It’s the first biographical feature project to secure the approval of the pop culture icon. The film is about the life of Bob Dylan’s early days as a struggling folksinger, the rise to the forefront of the early-’60s folk scene, the controversial switch to rock, the motorcycle accident and the subsequent retreat from public view, and the latter-day de-emphasis of recording and concentration on the concert series known as the Never Ending Tour.

You can download the trailer In hi-res quicktime here. Or check it out in youtube format below: