The advance publicity for Todd Haynes’ film “I’m Not There” rolls on today, and includes a big spread in the New York Post, by Isaac Guzmán, providing a “first look at the six cinematic faces of Dylan,” with photos and little synopses of the various Dylan characters.

BLOOD ON THE TRACKS

Era: The uneven ’70s

Character: Billy

Actor: Richard Gere

Telling details: It’s Dylan on the set of Sam Peckinpah’s “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid,” in which the singer played “Alias,” a member of Billy’s gang (inset). Dylan wrote the soundtrack, which included the classic “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” But that was a high point among several muddled albums, including “Self Portrait” and “Planet Waves.” In 1975, however, he’d make “Blood on the Tracks,” his best record of the decade. It included classics such as “Idiot Wind,” “Tangled Up in Blue” and “Shelter From the Storm.”

Going by the trailer and advance teases like this one in the Post, it seems clear enough that the film takes its inspiration from various stories (apocryphal or not) and clichés surrounding Dylan’s life and career. By giving the characters other names, and a variety of faces, a detachment is enforced from any notion of reality (whatever that is). So the film is not about dispelling myths, but apparently is about tackling them in such a way as to only amplify the mystery. As has been said before in this space, this extremely unconventional approach is likely what led Bob Dylan himself to cooperate with the project. He need have no fear that anything in this movie is going to really stick to him, after all. It will be self-evidently Todd Haynes’ riffing on other people’s stories about Dylan.

As to who’s going to like it: I don’t know. It seems to be generating buzz. From the point of view of this fan, I have no doubt I’ll go see it, and I hope it’s well done and lots of fun, but the old myths and legends and swirling images of Dylan’s career are a lot less interesting to me than the artist’s actual work. And the whole theme of Dylan being an inscrutable man of many faces is one that, in my opinion, has been overworked and excessively resorted to by critics who, for reasons of their own, are flummoxed by where Dylan has seemed to be coming from at various points in his career.

Something about that movie though, well I just can’t get it out of my head
But I can’t remember why I was in it or what part I was supposed to play.
All I remember about it was Gregory Peck and the way people moved
And a lot of them seemed to be lookin’ my way.

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