OWEN'S BESTS
1. I'm Not There
It's a biopic, an essay, a folk-rock opera, and a dream, all rolled into the headiest musical ever made. It's also the year's most daring vision, though the obsessive head-tickling sprawl of Todd Haynes' sublime meditation on the music and mystery of Bob Dylan wouldn't amount to a hill of guitar picks if the film weren't also so intimate and reverent and moving. The glory of I'm Not There is the way Haynes invites us not just to watch, but to enter the movie and wander around inside it; to fuse with Dylan's quest for something uncanny — a beauty that could save us all.

This is an online-only excerpt. To read Owen Gleiberman's full appreciation of I'm Not There, check out EW's special Best & Worst 2007 issue, on stands Dec. 21.

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