Back in December, I had the choice between seeing Before the Devil Knows You're Dead and I'm Not There. A part of me always regretted choosing Before the Devil (see post), but after watching Todd Hayne's latest biopic, I now realize I should have gone home that night.
Alternating between campy and cryptic, the film suffers from tonal inconsistencies. One moment you're watching "Arthur Rimbaud" at a McCarthy-esque hearing, the next you're in the middle of a Christopher Guest film with Julianne Moore pretending to be Joan Baez. In one word: senseless.
One could make the argument that Haynes is trying to make the filmic equivalent of a Bob Dylan song with its cobbling together of various pop culture references. The only problem is that Dylan's a much better songwriter than Haynes a filmmaker.
Every cloud has a silver lining and in this case it comes in the form of Cate Blanchett's performance as "Jude Quinn," the Pennebaker Don't Look Back Dylan. At one point, she's attacked by a disgruntled fan while her entourage stands back in fear. Before she's stabbed, some blonde chick brakes a vase over the head of the would-be attacker. Cate responds, "Just like a woman." There's just something very funny about a woman being a man being a misogynist.
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