Terry Gilliam has long admired Marcel Carné’s beautiful and tragic Children of Paradise (he even contributes an introduction to the Criterion Collection edition). In The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, among his more phantasmagorical features, Gilliam conjures up his own unique theatrical troupe. Led by the immortal Parnassus (Christopher Plummer, whose daughter, Amanda, appeared in The Fisher King), Anton (Boy A‘s Andrew Garfield), Percy (Verne Troyer), and the doctor’s doll-faced daughter, Valentina (model Lily Cole), travel through 21st-century London in their stagecoach set. Times are tight and the quartet is starting to unravel when they rescue Tony, a philanthropist (Heath Ledger, reuniting with Gilliam for the last time), from the Russian mob. Though Anton pines for Valentina, she falls for the new fellow, who charms female viewers into opening up their wallets. Little do the ladies realize they risk their souls when they pass through the Imaginarium, a Mylar mirror that leads to alternate realities (where Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell play Tony’s doppelgängers). As it transpires, Parnassus made a Faustian bargain with Mr. Nick (Tom Waits, whom Gilliam considers “America’s greatest musical poet”) centuries before and must supply Satan with five souls by Valentina’s 16th birthday or Nick will take her away from him–permanently. One of the movie’s more haunting lines, “Nothing is forever, not even death,” could serve as an epitaph for Ledger, who died from an accidental overdose during filming, but lives again in the erratic, yet imaginative Gilliam’s most purely enjoyable film since Time Bandits. –Kathleen C. Fennessy
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May 9, 2008
#1
I thought going in that the transitions of Ledger to the other handsome devils would be jarring and detract from the enjoyment of the film. For the most part, however, excluding Jude Law who stuck out like a sore thumb, this was not Parnassus’ downfall. The magical realism approach benefited the film greatly and helped to disguise the death of the main character in ways I won’t explain for fear of ruining some surprise.
Gilliam sure does know how to make an imaginative landscape; CG or not the imagination scenes were pretty cool! Also Tom Waits was pretty fun as the devil. The other actors, for the most part, were forgettable (meaning they get the job done and nothing more) except for Vern Troyer– who was AWFUL! Really monotone, no inflection…no wonder he never spoke in Austin Powers! Just terrible. His character could have been cut, for all I care. Ugh. Also the pacing of the film was sort-of off. Gilliam, while a master of visual splendor, has always had this problem. The Fisher King, his early 90′s “masterpiece” (I use the term lightly, I prefer “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” or Monty Python shtick personally) fell prey to the same elements of talk-talk-talk, not enough wild, intriguing panache. There were times during this film when I felt excessively bored and just wanted to go “back through the mirror” as it were.
Also the denouncement lacked bite, when the big reveal of who Ledger’s character was and what his motivations were. Ho-hum.
This is just another example (see MirrorMask) of how visual splendor cannot save a movie that has a bad script. Though there were moments of supreme elation such as the first imagination sequence in the forest, the film product felt a bit too cobbled together and ultimately mundane to be regarded as anything but another mediocre Gilliam outing, much in the same vain as the ill-fated Brothers Grimm, which, actually, I enjoyed more than this movie.
May 9, 2008
#2
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus isn’t the best movie I have seen and it’s not really worthy to have been Heath Ledger’s last film. Yet, I liked it for it’s odd story and the performance by Christopher Plummer. Ledger is really good too of course but the movie wouldn’t have been any better if he was in the whole thing. The script is a mess even if the movie still does manage to be interesting.
But Ledger deserved to work with the Terry Gilliam that was at the top of his game, the one that made Time Bandits, Brazil and 12 Monkeys. I was hoping that was the Terry Gilliam that made this movie. I was entertained by the oddness of the movie and the visuals but not enough to give it a higher rating. The movie doesn’t make enough sense for me to give it a higher rating. The fact that Ledger turns into either Johnny Depp, Jude Law or Colin Farrell when he enters the Imaginarium does add some fun to the movie though.
May 9, 2008
#3
Stunning visuals, wonderful performances, and an intriguing premise–nothing new really for a Terry Gilliam film. However, all those combined still don’t add up to a story that really goes anywhere or has a real point, which is sadly ironic for a film that attempts to extol the virtue of a good story. Too bad the film didn’t take its own advice.
May 9, 2008
#4
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS
STARRING: Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Andrew Garfield, Tom Waits, Lily Cole, Verne Troyer, Colin Farrell, Johnny Depp and Jude Law
WRITTEN BY: Terry Gilliam and Charles McKeown
DIRECTED BY: Terry Gilliam
Rated: PG – 13
Genre: Science Fiction / Fantasy
Release Date: 08 January 2010
Review Date: 31 January 2010
I’ve always found Heath Ledger and Johnny Depp to look similar, and thought it would be neat to see them play brothers. Obviously with the un-expected death of Heath Ledger, we will never see that happen. We can at least however, see them play the same character in the newest and last film of Ledger’s life: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.
Christopher Plummer co-stars as the magnificent Doctor Parnassus. He’s an old-timer with a two-bit sideshow act that he barely seems content with. And when I say old-timer, I mean old. He’s made a deal with the devil you see, that upon her 16th birthday, his daughter’s soul will belong to the devil, granting Parnassus the gift of immortality. He made this deal, years before the birth of his daughter; but he made it nonetheless.
All may not be lost for him however, when the devil (Tom Waits), offers him a new challenge. They will both attempt to collect the souls of five unfortunates, in just two days; the amount of time before his daughter turns 16.
Desperate to keep her on earth with him, the old man regrettably agrees to the bet and the clock starts ticking. It’s by sheer magic that Doctor Parnassus will be able to claim these five souls. All he has to do is get five people to willingly step into his `Imaginarium’; a curtain of sorts, onboard his portable side-show trolley. The `Imaginarium’ is a kind of mystical dream-world that is different for all who enter.
Parnassus sets hard at work with his crew of co-stars: his daughter Valentina (Lily Cole); the young man, who is infatuated with her, Anton (Andrew Garfield); and of course the mysterious Tony, played primarily by Ledger.
We meet Ledger’s character Tony in the most unpleasant and ironic of ways. He appears to be dead, hanging by the neck from a bridge. It will no-doubt put many in an uncomfortable place. He is magically revived and claims to have no memory of who he is or from where he hails. The team of small-time entertainers is in agreement that he can repay them for saving his life by joining their act. Tony accepts the invitation.
All of the actors in the film deliver great performances and are a lot of fun to watch. You will laugh a lot too. This is not a great movie by any means, but it is a good one; especially if you take into consideration how extraordinarily well it was put together.
Ledger passed away on 22 January 2008, leaving his co-stars and crew with the film only two thirds completed. Whatever were they to do? Co-writer and director Terry Gilliam (who had worked with Ledger previously on another good movie – The Brothers Grimm), had a great task ahead of him. He decided to make Ledger’s character Tony into a shape shifter.
By divine chance, they were able to transform the missing pieces of the film around the ones with Ledger, with the help of some Hollywood big-shots; Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell, to be exact. They all volunteered to act out the missing pieces of the story that requiring Tony. They could not have done it any better if they tried. The film plays out beautifully with all four actors, playing the same character in different stages of the story.
Johnny Depp looks so much like Heath Ledger, there is one shot in the film that I’m not sure which one of them it is. Look for it and see if you can tell. It’s the shot of Tony atop of the trolley after his first transformation into – the Johnny Depp version of himself. Depp perfected Ledger’s character terrifically and it puts a smile on your face, knowing he stepped up to do this.
Jude Law plays the second transformation and surprisingly enough, also looks like Ledger somewhat! He too played the character as Ledger would have and it’s a treat to watch.
But the biggest surprise to me came from Colin Farrell. Next to Ledger, he spends the longest time as Tony, and he blew me away with his performance. Knowing that he has a very thick Irish accent to cover up, it is astonishing at how similar his speech pattern was to that of Ledger’s. He moves like Ledger, he looks like him and all of his facial expressions and physical mannerisms are dead-on. He is very deserving of a best supporting actor Oscar nomination.
I liked Heath Ledger when I first saw him in 10 Things I Hate about You. But when I saw him in The Patriot, I knew he had a bright future ahead of him and I became an instant fan. I was taken aback by his outstanding performance in Brokeback Mountain, and no-one was a bigger fan of his portrayal of The Joker in The Dark Knight. It’s easily one of the top ten performances by any actor in the history of cinema.
There is a lot of speculation that he killed himself. I’m not a mind reader and I won’t pretend to be. But having seen him in countless interviews, and witnessed his true passion for acting, I just can’t buy that he would take his own life in the middle of a film, leaving his co-stars and friends to pick up the pieces. Keep in mind he came back to work with Terry Gilliam a second time, so obviously he had a good relationship with the man. Regardless of what happened to him in that lonely room in New York, – we miss you Heath. And thank-you for the cinematic treasures, you’ve left us with.
May 9, 2008
#5
Terry Gilliam’s latest effort “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” is a very unique film only the director of “The Fisher King” and “Twelve Monkeys” can create. You either love it or you find yourself scratching your head and wondering just what the film is all about. You may call it wildly imaginative and fascinating, or just whimsical and self-indulgent. I am sure that many would agree on this, however – that no one else can create the dream-like world of “The Imaginarium.”
The fantasy film is set in today’s London, which looks more like Victorian. You meet the traveling theater troupe of Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) and its members – Anton (Andrew Garfield), angry dwarf Percy (Verne Troyer), and the doctor’s beautiful daughter, 15-year-old Valentina (Lily Cole). And there are some mysteries about the traveling troupe. They have a strange “mirror,” a portal to another world. The doctor himself has a secret that he should reveal to his beloved daughter, something she will know in three days.
As you know, “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” is Heath Ledger’s last film. Heath Ledger is brilliant as mysterious Tony who is found hanging under a bridge. Tony joins the troupe and claims he has lost his memories. In the strange world on the other side of the mirror Tony is played by three different actors Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell.
Those who love the silly humor and extraordinary imagination of Terry Gilliam’s animations in his Monty Python days will love the film’s jokes and visuals such as “the dancing policemen” sequence. Those who find the director’s previous “Tideland” tedious will not be disappointed with the film’s visual imagination of the “Imaginarium.” Acting is also unanimously great and Lily Cole steals every scene she is in.
The story concocted by Terry Gilliam and Charles McKeown (who co-wrote Gilliam’s “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen” and “Brazil”) doesn’t make much sense. Is it about Tony or Doctor Parnassus? I am not sure. The larger-than-life characters don’t seem to take themselves very seriously. Even “Mr. Nick” (very amusing Tom Waits) is not really serious about his bet and he looks as if just enjoying every moment he is in. Perhaps that is exactly what we should do to watch “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.”