Cate Blanchett: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked
4. Jude Quinn (Bob Dylan) I'm Not There (2007)
Technically it was Jude Quinn Cate Blanchett was playing in I'm Not There, but the frizzy wig, skinny-fit suit and harmonica were a dead give away. Todd Haynes' unorthodox biopic of folk music legend Bob Dylan cast six different actors to portray different facets of the mercurial singer-songwriter's personality and history, including Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw and Richard Gere. There was also 11-year old African American boy Marcus Carl Franklin as the young Dylan obsessed with Woody Guthrie, and Christian Bale as the protest singer who gets held up as the voice of the revolution. But Blanchett gets the real plumb role, made up as the electric Dylan who earned accusations of Judas! This was the Dylan or Quinn who lead interviewers through dizzying linguistic gymnastics with oblique answers and equally obtuse lyrics. It's not an easy part of Dylan's career to capture, which is probably why Haynes went for Blanchett. Within five minutes of her on screen she's totally absorbed into the character. Despite being, well, a lady.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
