DVD reviews: I'm Not There | Margot At the Wedding

Published on Friday 11 July 2008 16:44

I'M NOT THERE (15) £19.99 Director: Todd Haynes Running time: 130 minutes ****

It's a testament to Cate Blanchett's sheer magnetism and fearless approach to acting that she can so uncannily resemble the androgynous, disillusioned Bob Dylan during his 'electric' period in Todd Haynes' montage of the icon. Blanchett is the most watchable of the six actors cast to portray the troubadour's changing faces, but Heath Ledger, who takes on Dylan's married life, and Marcus Carl Franklin, who opens the film as the self-assured, ambitious boy who goes by the name of Woody Guthrie, also give brilliant performances.

Ben Whishaw, Christian Bale and Richard Gere complete the incarnations, none of whom actually carry Dylan's name, and, as the title suggests, this identity-deconstructing gesture is entirely the point. Haynes manages to capture the mythical intrigue of the notoriously elusive Dylan (who gave Haynes rights to his music). That the film leaves you with more questions than answers is no bad thing.

MARGOT AT THE WEDDING (15) 19.99

Director: Noah Baumbach

Running time: 88 minutes

**

Noah Baumbach took everyone by surprise with his smart, touching and witty take on a pair of New York academics' marriage breakdown, The Squid And The Whale (starring Laura Linney and Jeff Daniels). Here, Baumbach's attention to detail when it comes to the bitterness of human behaviour follows a slightly similar vein, if not deeper and darker.

Nicole Kidman is the estranged writer sister of Jennifer Jason Leigh who is set to be married. Jack Black is the slacker-styled husband to be. Jealousy runs like wildfire through all the relationships.

What was fantastic about The Squid And The Whale was that its exploration of dysfunction had a natural charm. Here, however, all the characters are loathsome and there is very little humour or clever filmmaking at play to lift the brow-beating misery of it all from out of its depressing ditch.