The Stranger

Having six actors playing six versions of Bob Dylan (none of whom are named Bob Dylan) is a masterstroke, allowing director Todd Haynes to concurrently poke fun at and pay homage to Dylan's megalomania. The first Dylan is an 11-year-old, train-hopping black kid named Woody Guthrie—precisely the character Dylan wished he were back in 1961. Subsequent Dylans include Arthur Rimbaud, Billy the Kid, a jackass movie star, a gospel preacher, and Cate Blanchett as the snarling, stoned Dylan of Don't Look Back. The film has flaws—you will, at the two-hour mark, want your life back—but it's the best biography the world has seen in ages. (See Movie Times for details.) BRENDAN KILEY by Brendan Kiley

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