THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

It's a brilliant stroke—a biography that doesn't ever mention its subject by name—and Haynes poetic audacity nearly carries the day. Dylan's story is viewed through the attitudes and visual signposts of the time in which he rose from idealistic cult figure to superstar. The threads of his life and inspirations weave together throughout the movie. In one, Haynes gives us the offstage Dylan ( portrayed by Brokeback Mountain's Ledger ) through the ever distancing relationship of Dylan to his wife and children. In another, fans of Dylan ( now played by Blanchett ) are shocked when the strident folkie plugs in his guitar and with a literal boom; goes electric at an outdoor folk festival. This section is sure to be the most talked about part of the movie.

The reason for that is Blanchett's mesmerizing turn as Dylan—it's a dead on interpretation, down to the frizzy Harpo hairdo, the Ray Bans, leather jacket, and incoherent mutterings. The performance is not just a sleight of hand,

either. Haynes gives Blanchett the gift of Dylan at the height of his celebrity and his alternate embrace and denounce of it. It's no coincidence that the segment is filmed in black and white and is populated by the leering faces, persistent paparazzi, and long tracking shots of Fellini. In paying homage to the maker of La Dolce Vita and 8 ½, Haynes creates another prism through which to view Dylan and the celebrity culture he inspired ( it also includes snippets of Dylan's love for gay poet Allen Ginsberg and his odd relationship with Warhol superstar Edie Sedgwick ) .

Throughout, we are constantly reminded that we are watching a movie; that its folly to think that the real Dylan could ever be captured on film. Other sections of the movie are mystical and poetic ( those involving Gere and Franklin ) , drawing on Dylan's influences and Haynes' fascination with rebellion against the constraints of rigid conservatism ( a theme he also explored more literally in Far From Heaven ) aren't easily linked to Dylan but are beautifully filmed and feel right.

The jigsaw puzzle approach of I'm Not There takes some getting used to and audiences steeped in traditional Hollywood structure are going to probably find this non-linear film that leaves the moorings of traditional bio-pics far behind tough going. Plus, not all the threads bind together but even with missteps Haynes takes you on a marvelous journey and its an intensely felt picture that actually gets on the screen the enormous power that music in the hands of a genius can have on the world. There's never been a film quite like I'm Not There and even though it's too long and gets a little too cow-eyed at times, Haynes' unique vision, the cinematic equivalent of the ultimate fan mail love letter, may be the precursor to an entirely new genre of poetic bio-pics. That a potential new film genre has once again been initiated by a queer artist with the unique vision and tremendous gifts that Haynes' possesses isn't a bit surprising. Want to see queer sensibility finely tuned to its height? Go see I'm Not There.

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This Christmas, written and directed by Preston A. Whitmore II is standard issue holiday fare, Soul Food-style in which Loretta Devine presides over a family with lots of stereotypical problems returning to her California home for Christmas. I love Loretta Devine, who should have gotten many more high-profile movie roles after Waiting to Exhale ( and plays a variation on that role here ) and am always happy to see her with another big screen part—even in a standard issue picture such as this. Regina King is the oldest daughter who has taken on familial responsibility after the father left for good while Sharon Leal is the younger, beautiful and selfish sister who went to New York for a modeling career. There's an older brother on the lam from bookies, a younger brother who is hiding the fact that he's a talented vocalist, and a middle brother who is home for the holidays on leave from the Army and is hiding a secret, too.

I'd forgotten that the trailer for the movie reveals the secret ( he's hooked up with a white woman ) and was hoping things would get interesting and that maybe he'd bring home his gay lover ( talk about don't ask/don't tell! ) . But not a bit of it. All the characters and their motivations are so stereotypical, in fact, that none of them really registers. On the plus side, inane as it is, at least this isn't one of those strident, slapstick white holiday movies—like Christmas with the Kranks—and also unlike its white counterparts, this black holiday movie features gorgeous jazz versions of the Christmas standards and a sassy Soul Train line dance sequence ( which wears out its welcome, however, when Whitmore, who apparently loved it a lot, repeats it at the movie's conclusion for a full five minutes before rolling the credits ) .

Check out my archived reviews at www.windycitytimes.com or www.knightatthemovies.com There is also ordering information on my new book of collected film reviews, 'Knight at the Movies 2004-2006.'