Masked and Anonymous

"I've got Jack Fate"

Uncle Sweetheart

As the country starts to fall into chaos, a desperate President calls for a benefit concert to be staged to bring some hope to the beleaguered people. The people in charge of arranging the spectacle are famed promoters Uncle Sweetheart (Goodman) and Nina Veronica (Lange) but they are having problems getting any big names to commit until Uncle Sweetheart has an idea. He wants to bring a legend back to the stage, all he has to do is get Jack Fate (Dylan) out of prison and persuade him to play again.

When you see a music star as the lead actor in a movie you should approach the film with trepidation. Masked & Anonymous is no exception.

One of the most influential musicians of all time, Bob Dylan makes another foray into movies with a film that is more self-indulgent and preachy than coherent or significant. The film is just a collection of speeches and songs that has no real structure or palatable storyline. The magnificent ensemble cast each have their chance to dominate the screen with a grandiose vocalisation that comes across as more pompous than riveting and this is the films major problem. Dylan and co-writer/director Larry Charles seem to have a lot to say and need a platform to voice it but they do this at the expense of any discernable plot.

Dylan's reputation and showbiz friendship allow him to assemble a star spangled cast. John Goodman and Jessica Lange dominate proceedings as the inscrutable promoters, seeing the concert as their chance to make some money and improve their situation. Both of their performances are domineering and pretentious with each of them more suited to pantomime or dinner theatre than the big screen. The rest of the all-star cast have fleeting moments in the limelight, each getting the chance to convey more of Dylan and Charles's opinions. Jeff Bridges gives the best performance as investigative journalist Tom Friend, a man who questions the validity of the concert and the chequered past of the legendary star. There are also noticeable turns from Val Kilmer, Penélope Cruz and Luke Wilson.

Dylan's Jack Fate ties the speeches together, with an understated performance from the musician. From this role you really can't tell if Dylan is an actor or not as he just spends more of his acting time listening to his more experienced luminaries. He comes alive, as you'd expect, when performing songs with his band. He plays many of this most famous songs including "Cold Iron Bound", "Gotta Serve Somebody" and "All I really want to do", proving again that the legendary artist has lost none of his musical prowess.

Masked & Anonymous has enough to keep fans of Dylan captivated for the 112 minutes but for everyone else the film just comes across as a way of the musician airing his opinions about the current and future state of the world. This would be all well and good if it was done in a more interesting or stimulating way.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is very good. Larry Clarke's use of moody or bright colours for the different characters is really emphasised by the very clear picture. The sound is also first rate, highlighting the dialogue for the excessive speeches and coming alive during the Jack Fate songs.

BONUS FEATURES

Commentary by co-writer/director Larry Charles
The noted TV director/producer takes passionately about bringing Dylan and his vision to the screen. He talks about working with the BBC, who co-financed the movie, and how they allowed him to use stock news footage to reduce costs and create a civil war-torn country. He introduces and talks about each character, revealing interesting facts about how the actors brought them to life. He reveals that Jeff Bridges based his look Dylan and how cash restrictions affected the movie.

Masked & Anonymous Exposed (21.23 mins)
Director Larry Charles and the cast talk about making the movie and getting the chance to work with Bob Dylan. The featurette reveals that the entire cast participated in the film for nothing but they had a lot of input into their character's development. Charles talks about how Dylan was asked to record six songs for the film but he ended up with twenty-two. This is an insightful look into the movie but the noticeable absence of any interview with Bob Dylan won't go down too well with fans.

Deleted Scenes (13.16 mins)
Five deleted or alternative scenes entitled "Alternative Bar Confrontation", "Jack Fate meets the Lady in Red", "Uncle Sweetheart and the Bad Boy of Shutterbugs", "Standing in the Doorway" and "Tom's friend's past". Highlights include another song by Dylan and his band and an un-credited appearance by Laura Harring.

Cold Irons Bound (6.41 mins)
A live performance of the song on the set by Bob Dylan and his band.

Trailer (2.14 mins)
Your chance to watch the full theatrical trailer for the movie.

OVERALL

Partner Entertainment and BBC Films have produced a good DVD for what is a very average movie. The inclusion of an informative commentary track by Larry Charles and a good featurette add to the value of the disc. For Dylan fans this makes it well worth a look, for everyone else it might be worth renting if you like the music and the actors involved.

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2004