Movie Review: The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassas
Friday, January 8, 2010
Heath Ledger as Tony, Lily Cole as Valentina
Photo: Liam Daniel, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassas is Terry Gilliam’s journey into the mind, the imagination, of the people in the film. It is interesting to look at (I kept wishing for 3D) but, in the end, there’s kind of no story, rather a series of things that just happen.
The Imaginarium of the title is behind a mirror. Those who wander through it find themselves in a place of their own making. They arrive there via Dr. Parnassus’ falling-apart sideshow stage drawn by a horse that travels through London, parking where there are likely to be some customers but no cops.
There’s a slim story about a deal Dr. Parnassus made with the devil. It’s getting close for the time one of them has to pay up and, thus, the action unfolds. There is, however, a most interesting cast.
As is widely publicized, this was Heath Ledger’s last film. Since he died during filming, Gilliam has said the script was revamped so that Ledger’s footage could still be used. It’s a bit of a shock when we first meet his character, Tony literally hanging, noose around his neck. A trio of Ledger’s friends — Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell — fill in for him later in the film and since the scenes outside the Imaginarium were filmed before Ledger’s death, the transitions from him to these other Tonys inside the Imaginarium are smooth.
The wonderful Christopher Plummer is Dr. Parnassus and Tom Waits is a deliciously depraved devil. Lily Cole is stunningly beautiful as Valentina, Parnassus’ daughter and Andrew Garfield contributes a nice turn as the boy who ran away to join the Parnassus sideshow. Verne Troyer is the final member of the sideshow crew.
The performances are uniformly good and Ledger, thankfully, appears to be having a lot of fun. The problem here is that individual scenes may be good, but someone fell down on the plot. It’s fun to see the doubting dowager enter the Imaginarium, look into a mirror and be transformed into a younger, slimmer version of herself and emerge blissful. It’s fun to see ladders that turn into stilts that reach up to the heavens. It is, as noted above, a beautiful film to watch. At the end, just before the credits roll, the words, “A Film By the Friends of Heath Ledger” appear on the screen. Nice words, undoubtedly very sincere, but you wish his friends had done a bit better for him.
But, to be fair, it is an interesting way to pass two hours so, on a scale that runs from “see it” to “avoid it,” I am — against any code of reviewers — firmly in the middle.
[Note: This film is rated PG-13 and, if you're considering seeing it with children, pay heed to the rating. It can be scary for kids.]
(3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)
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