Tonight I saw I' m not there-the biographical film about the legendary Bob Dylan. It was an incredible film with some of the best acting, and actors, I have seen all year. I must warn you, it is an artsy type film, with an unusual way of unfolding the story, but if you have patience with it, you will be rewarded.

I must start with Cate Blanchett who was amazing. She embodied the androgynous, and fidgety persona of Jude Quinn (during Dylan' s height of fame in the late 60' s), perfectly. Her performance was so believable and absorbing that you fell in love with the character and her. She is a brilliant actress and I don' t think I' ve given her credit for that until now. She gave an Oscar winning performance. I sometimes find that when male actors play women or a female actors play men, you can sense the ambivalence, and this subtle need to show some of their gender but not Cate, she really surrendered to the role, and appeared to enjoy playing a man, without over "playing a man" (if you know what I mean).

I also really loved the performances of Christian Bale, who added both a seriousness and humor to the film, and Marcus Carl Franklin, who played a young black Bob Dylan, in such a sincere, amusing, and natural way that you believed this impossibility.

But the part that weighed it down and made it last a little too long was Richard Gere' s role as the elderly Dylan, Billy the Kid. By the time he appears in the film, I felt that what had to be said, had been, very well in fact, and that this role just seemed unnecessary.

But I save my last comment for the actor I really went to see the film for, Heath Ledger. Since his death I have felt a deep lingering sadness and loss as if I knew him. This has even influenced the novel I am working on, so I found it fitting to go and watch this fabulous film he stars in, exactly a week after his death, and I' m glad I did because it helped to wipe some of the sadness away. That being said, for anyone who is a Ledger fan, go see the film. Ledger is in two of my favorite films, Monster' s Ball, and Brokeback Mountain (who knew two gay men could turn a straight girl on), and now I can say he is in a third favorite. His role in this film, as Robbie Clark, an actor who plays Dylan in a film, is wonderful. Though eerie at times, like one of the first scenes where he comes out fully naked (frontal nudity too) or the separation of Clark with his wife and daughters, now takes on a new significance. But I didn’t cry because looking at his beautiful image, captivating performance, and presence was enough to make me wish he was alive for purely selfish reasons, he was really one of the few really sexy and talented male actors around. That will be sorely missed. His love scenes with French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg were beautiful. There is energy in all of his acting that makes you realize he will be alive every time you watch his films, that is the gift of being an artist. For fans of  Ledger you can also Youtube the beautiful Ben Harper video that Heath Ledger directed, called Morning Yearning, (stunning song, beautiful video).

I’m Not There leaves you appreciating the power of acting and wanting to know more about Bob Dylan. Check it out!