"I'm Not There" as a Revisionist Biopic

“I’m Not There” depicts folk singer Bob Dylan as six different personae to represent different aspects of his personality and various stages of his career. The characters are delivered through a fragmented narrative, which director Todd Haynes constructed to convey the idea that a linear storyline featuring one actor cannot effectively portray the multiple dimensions of a figure’s personality. Dylan’s different personae include Arthur Rimbaud, Jack Rollins, Billy the Kid, Woody Guthrie, Robbie and Jude Quinn. Historically, Arthur Rimbaud was a gay 19^th century French poet; in the movie, he represents the persona of Dylan the poet. Jack Rollins, on the other hand, represents Dylan as an activist and a religious man. Billy the Kid symbolizes the rebellious, reclusive years of Dylan’s career. Woody Guthrie relays critics’ perceptions of Dylan as a fake because the character is a young black boy acting as Dylan. Finally, Robbie represents Dylan the film actor, while Jude Quinn Dylan’s speed-freak years.

“I’m Not There” parallels the unorthodox biopic “Citizen Kane” in numerous ways. Neither film directly mentions the name of their respective subjects, although they contain strong allusions to the life events of their subjects. Furthermore, neither film adheres to a linear storyline; they both draw from multiple perspectives to shape a more comprehensive view of their subjects. Because of these distinctions from the conventions of traditional biopics, both “I’m Not There” and “Citizen Kane” are revisionist biopics, although “I’m Not There” is certainly more outlandishly fragmented than “Citizen Kane”.

"Inception" as Film Noir

“Inception” explores a fictional phenomenon in which trained individuals can enter someone’s subconscious while he sleeps and extract or plant ideas in his mind. Dom Cobb learns the tragic effects of performing inception when he and his wife, Mal, accidentally trap themselves in a dreamlike state for what seems like decades and he puts the idea in her mind that their dream world is in fact the real world. When they finally wake up from their slumber, Mal is convinced that the real world is false. She struggles to convince Dom that, if they kill themselves, they will wake up in what she perceives as “the real world”. Dom remains firm, and Mal tries to manipulate him into killing himself by giving him an ultimatum. She tells other people that he is abusing her, and reminds Dom that if she kills herself, and he doesn’t do the same, people will inevitably think that he murdered her. When Dom does not comply, she kills herself, forcing Dom to flee the United States and leave his young children behind. In Europe, Dom makes a living using inception to perform corporate espionage. He gets an offer he cannot pass up when Mr. Saito agrees to help Dom return to the United States if Dom can infiltrate Robert Fischer’s subconscious and convince him to break up his late father’s energy conglomerate. With the help of his business partner Arthur, an architecture student named Ariadne and a host of other characters, Dom arranges to infiltrate Fischer’s mind during an airplane flight. Although the group is repeatedly hindered by Dom’s dream projection of Mal, who strives to undermine their operation, they ultimately succeed—although the audience must question whether Dom actually escapes slumber when he returns home at the end of the movie and appears to still be in a fake realm.

Mal (or Dom’s projection of Mal) serves to enhance the movie’s film noir ambiance by acting as a traditional femme fatale. She repeatedly tries to undermine Dom’s operation, betraying him at every turn. Dom ultimately must kill Mal after she inhibits him too many times, affirming the film noir ideology that women are scheming individuals with alternative motives and that men ultimately must put them back in their place.

"Intolerable Cruelty" Professes Revisionist Interpretation

The 2003 Coen Brothers film “Intolerable Cruelty” depicts the twisted, money-driven courtship process between golddigger Marilyn Rexroth and divorce lawyer Miles Massey. Marilyn first encounters Miles when she files for a divorce from her husband Rex Rexroth. Marilyn, who only took interest in Rex because of his money, had hired a private investigator to capture video footage of Rex cheating on her. Marilyn plans on using the video to her advantage in court, but crafty, clever Miles manages to find someone who can testify that Marilyn only married Rex for his money. As a result, Marilyn is left broke and desperate. She gets engaged to a man she claims to be an oil millionaire and asks Miles to create a prenup for them. However, Howard rips up the prenup at the wedding and Marilyn divorces him a few months later, supposedly acquiring his fortune. Miles, who is very attracted to Marilyn, marries her on a whim but creates a prenup so Marilyn won’t think he is simply marrying her for her money. However, Marilyn destroys the prenup. Miles soon learns that the “oil millionaire” she married was simply a hired actor and therefore Marilyn has no money. Because Marilyn destroyed the prenup, Miles is now vulnerable to losing his money. He hires a hit man to kill Marilyn, but then discovers that Rex Rexroth has died, leaving Marilyn a fortune in his will. Miles sets out to save Marilyn, but she has craftily hired the hit man to kill Miles instead. In the ensuing confusion, the hit man accidentally kills himself. When Marilyn and Miles meet to discuss the terms of their divorce, Miles asks for a second chance, signing a prenup to demonstrate his good intentions. Marilyn agrees to stay with him, and proceeds to tear up the prenup.

“Intolerable Cruelty” certainly adheres to various conventions of the classical screwball comedy genre. It illustrates a female-dominated courtship process, and depicts the lives of the wealthy. However, the movie is ultimately a revisionist screwball comedy, not a traditionalist screwball comedy because it does not promote the institution of marriage. The movie highlights the monetary benefits of divorce, whereas a classical screwball comedy emphasizes the emotional rewards of marriage. Because “Intolerable Cruelty” does not promote marriage, a crucial quality of the classical screwball comedy, it is a revisionist interpretation of the screwball comedy genre.