***
Rated R, 135 minutes.
Coming Tuesday to DVD.

Where are you?

His name is never spoken, but his ever-present songs offer a big hint. The life story sounds familiar, and the moody, mumbling artists who play him remind us of someone. It’s the hydra-headed Bob Dylan, in surely the strangest mainstream film from last year.

Courtesy photo

Cate Blanchett as Jude -- a thinly veiled version of the young Bob Dylan -- in 'I'm Not There.'

Director Todd Haynes’ loose rendering of the life of the famous troubadour may not suit all tastes and, in fairness, is often difficult to follow. It’s essential to know beforehand that Haynes uses six actors to appear for six different incarnations of Dylan.

An unlikely Cate Blanchett earned an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of young rebel Dylan, the cryptic mumbler who antagonized fans and critics. Richard Gere, Ben Whishaw, Christian Bale and, in one of his last screen roles, Heath Ledger also appear as some form of Dylan. Young Afri­can-American actor Marcus Carl Franklin plays the Woody Guthrie-inspired Dylan.

Dylan’s life and career path unfold in this cryptic manner, making the viewer participate in the process. The varied sequences build up Haynes’ mosaic of this complex artist and deliver a compelling, uncompromising film that its subject probably appreciated.

The film arrives on two generously endowed discs ($28.95). The first holds the film, with commentary by Haynes, on-screen song lyrics, song selections and an introduction to the film.

Disc 2 offers numerous, mostly short featurettes broken down into four categories. The longest individual segment (43 minutes) comes in “Conversation With Todd Haynes,” in which the director parses his film. Also included are nine deleted scenes, four alternate/extended scenes, and about four minutes of outtakes. Plus, a gag reel, audition tapes from Marcus Carl Franklin and Ben Whishaw, and a featurette on making the soundtrack. The eight-part Dylanography examines the film’s creation from beginning to its eventual premiere — and much more.

Steel City (***1/2) The sad people, the boarded-up store fronts and the empty streets of Alton, Ill., signal the inner turmoil lying within the troubled characters found in this stark, personal drama. Writer and director Brian Jun centers on P.J. (Thomas Guiry, in a convincing performance), son to Carl (John Heard), who’s in jail after killing a woman in an auto accident.

P.J. means well, washing dishes in a chintzy restaurant, trying to be friendly with his older brother (Clayne Crawford), moving in with his prickly uncle (Raymond J. Barry), visiting his mother (Laurie Metcalfe), or his girlfriend (America Ferrara, Ugly Bet­ty). But P.J. is so tightly wound, he loses jobs, ignores his girlfriend and fights with his brother.

The only solace he seems to find is with his jailed father, with whom he shares a destructive secret. Jun shows an exceptional knack for constructing characters suffering great inner turmoil, and then benefits from finding his story realistically portrayed by an excellent cast of both old and new performers.

A good story, well written and finely directed, with few extraneous or false moments. Rated R, 95 minutes.

On the DVD, Jun offers twin commentaries, one with his cinematographer, and one with cast members Heard, Craw­ford and Barry. Plus, 12 minutes of deleted scenes, a photo gallery and Brian Jun’s 12-minute short film, “For Jimmy Brown.”

Lucky us. This week sees the premiere of two films from earlier this year that are among the worst of the past decade. We celebrate their tawdriness:

The Hottie and the Nottie (*) Don’t blame Paris Hilton (not entirely anyway) for this unfunny film about a young man who tracks down his childhood crush, stalks her and ends up falling for her not-so-attractive friend.

Paris Hilton plays Cristabelle Abbott, the love object who has gone from child beauty to adult hottie. Joel Moore is Nate Cooper, the fumbling, clueless stalker. And Christine Lakin plays June Phigg, the “nottie” who eventually and predictably blossoms.

Director Tom Putnam takes Heidi Ferrer’s pedestrian script and further reduces it to gross stereotypes and lame innuendoes, robbing it of any chance of creating laughs. Forced, dull and unfunny. But Paris looks good.  Rated PG-13, 90 minutes.

Over Her Dead Body (*) In this Ghost-like romantic-comedy, a consistently strident Eva Lon­go­ria Parker plays Kate, who dies in the first scene as she is about to marry fiance Henry (Paul Rudd). She then reappears in miasmic form as Henry tries to go on with his life, particularly when he becomes interested in Ashley (Lake Bell).

Writer-director Jeff Lowell shows absolutely no visible talent for comedy, accentuating the leaden and expanding on physical, unfunny stunts and pratfalls. Poor Paul Rudd looks as embarrassed as you’ll feel watching this dead fish. Rated PG-13, 95 minutes.

David Beckham: Life of an Icon The British and now Los Angeles soccer star is the focus of this documentary, which looks at him, his early years and his worldwide renown. Included are various talking-head interviews mixed in with home footage as well as family childhood photos.

Not rated, 77 minutes. The DVD also offers an extended interview with Bobby Charlton and an additional segment on “Brand Beckham.”