The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Director: Terry Gilliam

Starring: Christopher Plummer, Heath Ledger, Lily Cole, Andrew Garfield, Verne Troyer

Already infamous before it was even released, due to the death of Heath Ledger during production, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is a movie that, as usual for a Terry Gilliam, is jam-packed with ideas and concepts, even if it doesn't execute them successfully. An initial glance at the movie may prove to be too much for some, especially since Gilliam's world doesn't always make sense – or seem to, at first appearance. So the unintentional mainstream attention that has been thrust upon it, not only due to Ledger's death but also the addition of Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell to the cast, may bring viewers who are not totally prepared for what they are about to see. However, those with an open mind will find much to consider in this odd little curiosity.

Thousands of years ago, Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) sold his soul to the devil, Mr. Nick (Tom Waits), in exchange for immortality. Parnassus now runs a travelling theater through modern-day London, complete with a magic mirror. This magic mirror, called the Imaginarium, transports the inhabitants into their own imagination, where, with Parnassus' help, they can be salvaged or, via Mr. Nick's temptations, end up sending their soul straight to hell. Parnassus also has his daughter, soon-to-be-16 Valentina (Lily Cole), travelling with him, who is unaware of her father's deal – especially the condition that any child Parnassus has will be taken by Mr. Nick on their 16^th birthday. However, Nick, knowing that Parnassus likes a good wager, offers him a deal: Valentina's soul, the first to five souls wins. Now, with mere days before her birthday, it is time for the travelling show to get a move on – and a mysterious amensiac (Heath Ledger) might just prove to be the answer.

First things first: Heath Ledger is not the main character. Whilst his character does play a significant part, the film's main focus is on Parnassus rather than Ledger's Tony. Ledger does not actually appear in the movie until roughly 25 minutes in. As for the performance itself, it is certainly nothing like The Joker in The Dark Knight. Its a respectable performance, but one does get the impression that Ledger's main interest in the role was to do with Tony's scenes in the Imaginarium, which were the scenes that he sadly died before shooting. That said, the movie does hang together remarkably well given the circumstances – I think there is a few moments here and there where you can tell that something has been reworked by his absence, but it shouldn't affect your enjoyment. I should also mention that Tony's entrance into the story may be extremely uncomfortable for some viewers – if you thought the scene where The Joker staged his death in a bodybag was awkward, then you haven't seen anything yet.

As for the matter of Ledger's replacements, I think they do decent jobs. However, I do think some of the marketing may have made people assume they have bigger roles than they actually do. This is particularly in the case of Johnny Depp, who is only in the movie for roughly 3 minutes – and most of it is in the trailer. The initial transformation of Tony is seamless – in fact, you might think it actually is Ledger until the mask is pulled up to reveal Depp. Jude Law's appearance is probably the weakest of the three, largely because his work is in a fun setpiece that doesn't actually require that much acting. Finally, Colin Farrell does the best work of the three, mostly because he not only has the longest part by far but because he actually gets probably the most interesting material too. It is also thought-provoking to note how the change in actors perhaps makes the movie more intriguing on a thematic level to do with Tony's character, without giving too much away. (I also hesitate to use the word 'better' because no one will ever know what the finished product would have been like with Ledger in the full role)

However, one must not overlook the work of Christopher Plummer, who does a great job here as Parnassus. Its a very tricky part to pull off (again, the film's ideas only come together with the ending and thus it is very tricky to avoid spoiling), but Plummer does a great performance here. Plummer is a very underrated actor, I think, and it is nice to have him essentially playing the lead role (although the film is an ensemble piece, so each cast member gets their moment to shine). Tom Waits makes a particularly charismatic devil and he appears to be having plenty of fun whenever he see him on-screen. I was also impressed by the performance of Verne Troyer as Parnassus' assistant Percy, who gets a rare chance to show off his dramatic ability. Lily Cole and Andrew Garfield are fine support as the players in the show.

I do think there are downsides, however. The film doesn't really flow so much as meader before Ledger's appearance and even afterwards takes some time to get going. I think that if the pace and structure of these earlier scenes was re-worked, it would help the film considerably. I also think that the ending suffers from the same problem and perhaps drags out too long and may feel a little bit disappointing. I don't think this is Gilliam's best work and although it is a celebration of the imagination like Brazil, I don't think it is as accessible as that movie.

The scenes in the Imaginarium are easily the highlight of the film. Gilliam offers us stunning CG worlds and every one that we do glimpse is different in their particular way. I think some viewers will be frustrated by the fact that there aren't any concrete 'rules', but you have to remember that this is raw imagination, and sometimes your imagination doesn't make that much sense either. A spontaneous musical number about policemen reminded me more than a bit of Gilliam's days as part of Monty Python. My only disappointment was that in one of the final scenes, the bluescreen work didn't look complete in some shots.

In a year where we have had soulless, braindead 'product' like X-Men Origins: Wolverine and numerous other summer misfires, it is good to know that there is still some imagination out there. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus may be flawed and 'too weird' for mainstream audiences, but packs so many ideas and visuals in its 2-hour running time that that can be forgiven. It boasts good performances for its entire ensemble cast and is a intriguing alternative to much of what Hollywood is producing. It is one of those movies where you will be putting the pieces together in your mind for days afterwards and suddenly realise, “That actually makes sense.”