Masked and Anonymous
Enigmatic rock legend Bob Dylan stars as an enigmatic rock legend (talk about a casting coup!) in this purposefully eccentric satiric comedy. Uncle Sweetheart (John Goodman) is an unscrupulous concert promoter who has figured out a way to cash in on the feelings of doubt and uncertainty that plague his nation, which is being torn apart by civil war and political revolution. Sweetheart has decided he will stage a massive benefit concert, though the unnamed charity would appear to be his checking account. Sweetheart hires television producer Nina Veronica (Jessica Lange) to help promote the show and sell it as a nation-wide cable-cast event, while Sweetheart pulls a few strings to arrange for the perfect headliner -- Jack Fate (Bob Dylan), a legendary songwriter who is currently serving a term in prison. With Fate out from behind bars, Sweetheart and Veronica set out to sell their grand spectacle to the world, though one determined investigative journalist (Jeff Bridges) has set out to throw a spenner into the works of Uncle Sweetheart and his epic fundraiser. Marking the directorial debut of comedy writer Larry Charles, Masked and Anonymous also features Penelope Cruz and Luke Wilson; the film was shown in competition at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. more..
Director: Larry Charles
Starring: Bob Dylan, Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Jessica Lange, Luke Wilson
Requires tremendous restraint not to conclude that this entertainingly apocalyptic mess is about nothing, since it may well be about everything. But I doubt it.
It's only when the film attempts to express its ideas in spoken English that logic dissolves into a muddle that would test the most rabid Dylanologist.
A messy, ambitious comedy.
"Masked" is erratic and volatile, too, from scene to scene, moment to moment. The script is chaotic, but the top-flight actors play their hearts out.
An apocalyptic Bob Dylan song made cinematic, with all the vision and poetry dissipating in the transfer. It's as if the filmmakers listened to "Desolation Row" just one time too many.
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