The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

If you've heard of The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus, there's a good chance that's it's because of the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the production.

Terry Gilliam's film seems forever destined to be remembered as Heath Ledger's final movie, and as such it will always be colored by an undertone of mourning. Seeing Ledger on the screen in what would turn out to be his final role isn't easy.

Heath Ledger's performance proves once again that we lost a great talent, but luckily his isn't the only talent on display. There are also fine performances from veteran Christopher Plummer, newcomers Andrew Garfield (soon to be seen as a rebooted Spider-Man) and Lily Cole, and even singer-songwriter Tom Waits. Ledger certainly shines, but the production isn't entirely overshadowed by his loss.

There's also a trio of strong cameos by the actors drafted in to complete Ledger's part following his death. It may sound ridiculous to attempt to complete a movie with three different lead actors, but The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus isn't your average movie - and it never shies away from the ridiculous. Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell all step into Ledger's shoes with grace, subtlety, and more than a little love.

As for the story itself, that proves to be a little tougher to put your finger on. Terry Gilliam has been known for his outlandish fantasies ever since he appeared as part of the Monty Python crew, and The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus indulges his whims at every turn. It's weird, wonderful, and gloriously disrespectful of the traditions of narrative storytelling.

As the movie opens we're introduced to Doctor Parnassus (Plummer) and his travelling troupe of players, all of whom look totally out of place in modern day London. They trawl the capital's streets at night, trying to attract customers for their show, which seems to consist of little more than a fake mirror and some old parlor tricks. In reality, though, Parnassus creates whole worlds of the imagination to explore - it's a shame that they're wasted on the drunken club crowds.

These imaginary worlds always seem to end with a fork in the path and a decision to make, the purpose of which becomes marginally clearer when we discover that Parnassus has an ongoing rivalry with the Devil (Waits). When the Satanic Mr. Nick comes to collect on an old debt, Parnassus makes a new bet with him - and the pair have to race to be the first to convert five human souls.

Don't be fooled by this overly fanciful plot, though, because The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus is more about visual excitement and rampant creativity than intricate plotting. The story may be a shapeless whimsy, but the vibrant tapestry of images more than makes up for the lack of narrative.

Of course, you may still find yourself pining for something more traditional to focus your attention, but it's hard to fault Gilliam's eccentric imagery and eye for visual detail. If at times you feel a little disorientated, then rest assured that that's all part of the experience. The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus provides us with an eerily apt memorial to one of our finest actors - and a timely reminder of one of our most unique directing talents, too.

4/5

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus: A Quickish Review

On January 22, 2008, Heath Ledger passed away from a toxic combination of prescription drugs. A few months later, the world was introduced to Ledger's portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight, a role that would earn him a best supporting actor oscar. Most people forget that The Dark Knight was not his last film, and that he had actually died halfway through the filming of Imaginarium. Fortunately,Imaginarium is incredibly trippy and Ledger's role was able to filled by Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell.

This movie is about as confusing as it gets. Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) is an immortal who runs a traveling circus show in what looks like an oversized horse and buggy. Audience members who go inside enter into an entrancing dreamworld where they choose either the morally correct path, or the morally bankrupt path. This is because of some silly bet Parnassus made with the devil. Parnassus sucks at his job major time, and pretty much everyone who goes in, goes to satan. That is, until they discover a mysterious stranger (Ledger) who upstarts the whole show and tries to turn it around.

Heath Ledger is quite obviously amazing in this movie. This is right after his time as the Joker, s his acting chops are top notch. And it is incredibly fun to watch the seamless transition from Ledger to Depp to Law and sometimes Farrell. Ledger is present throughout the entire movie, thanks to a sporadic shooting schedule and it feels like he never died.

Sadly, he can't save this movie from itself. One, it can get incredibly confusing and weird (watching a waltz between the devil and Parnassus' daughter comes to mind) and two, however incredible and magical the dream sequences are around the middle of the movie, the whole thing is a little dreary and oppressive.

It might be Heath Ledger's last movie, but I'm going to block that fact from my memory and just assume The Dark Knight was.

2 out of 4 stars

-Christopher O'Connell

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The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Starring Heath Ledger, Verne Troyer, Lily Cole) is a fantastical morality tale, set in the present-day. It tells the story of Dr. Parnassus and his extraordinary "Imaginarium", an extraordinary travelling show set in the doom & gloom of a modern day London where members of the audience get an irresistible and enticing opportunity to visit the other side of the mirror to choose between light and joy or darkness and gloom. Dr Parnassus also has a dark sinister side to him, he has previously made a deal with the devil to remain immortal and the price of this is that when his daughter Valentina turns 16 he loses her to the devil. Alternatively the winner of Valentina will be determined by whoever seduces the first five souls.
One thing Terry Gilliam has always used to set himself apart from the rest has been his inventiveness and beautifully surreal dreams capes. From the iconic scenes we've previously seen in Brazil to Time Bandits. Despite almost a decade in and out of half decent projects Gilliam has strayed away from what was once good, his last good film in my opinion has to be 12 Monkeys. Dr Parnassus is far more closer to Baron Munchhausen than it is to anything else and is certainly by far his best thing in years after disasters such as The Brothers Grimm and one or two others. The scenes on the other side of the mirror are exactly how I envisioned them, beautifully surreal and mesmerising.
Cant help but think Gilliam's imagery often bares hints of Salvador Dali and its even more so here. It's not quite as dark as what we're used to seeing from Terry as this such a fairy tale driven storyline and there is a happy ending in it, certainly not what we got with Time Bandits, 12 Monkey's and the cult classic Brazil, but I don't actually think it's a bad thing. As your all probably aware, tragedy struck this film and several stand in actors pay tribute to the lovely Heath Ledger by portraying his character on the other side of the mirror(for the record these scenes 'do' make perfect sense and fit in perfectly).In my opinion the best performances come from Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits(Equipped with his trademark voice) as the good and bad forces and Heath Ledger's performance plays also an integral part and you have to admire Lily Cole's confidence with her role(if not for the love of trying becomes a bit overbearing at times though).

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Booze Revooze: A Drinker's Skewed View of THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR PARNASSUS

Yet another Booze Revooze Sneak Peek. Yes, once again the powers that drink sent a film to Yeman before the States.
Ramblings:  The Imaginarium of Terry Gilliam

Final Proof: 3½ Shots
You know how you go to that one bar that’s literally an underground club because it’s in a basement lost somewhere at the bottom of some building and you don’t go there a lot but when you do it’s because it’s the only tavern you know of where you can drink absinthe? You go there, you suckle the green fairy and you lay back and let the phantasms swoon inside you and some of them are dark and others are pleasant but you care more about the fact that you can let go of your mind and let your dreams do the thinking. Sure, sometimes the drink wears off and you feel the stupor laced ennui opium withdrawal but all you need to do is drink more and wait for the wormwood to worm its way back into your wood and set you free. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is kinda like that.Terry Gilliam is the only man alive who knows how to film our dreams.  And when i say “dreams”, i don’t mean all that “pie in the sky, hopes and aspirations” crap; no, i’m talking about the spectacle you see only after you close your eyes.  Watching The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is like dreaming with your eyes open, most of the time.  It would have been a better film had it stayed in story mode but (here’s the opium withdrawal part) it strayed into story telling and every writer should know it’s not what you say but what you show.

Gilliam’s Imaginarium is a cocktale (fairytale + cocktail = cocktale; get your minds out of the gutter) about choices. Perhaps a  little over simplified into the choice between good and evil, but then it is a cocktale and things tend to be simpler there.  Heath Ledger symbolizes what is known in the Tarot as the Hanged Man, a card which represents someone at a crossroads or someone who refuses to choose. Then, reminiscent of Job (thanks Miss D!), there’s good and the Devil making bets on the choices they dole out to us poor humans. What i’m drunk driving at here, is that Gilliam has done more than present us with a pretty picture, but painted an elaborate fable that i’m afraid this simple drinker would need to see more than once to grasp completely.

Technically, especially the ‘mirror’ scenes, the movie is flawless.  CGI allows Gilliam to go farther and faster than he ever went in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and The Imaginarium…,  while suffering from Munchausen’s syndrome, is a huge visual success.

The actors are amazing as well. Christopher Plummer is totally convincing as Parnassus. Heath Ledger does his normal wonderful job in his role, but it’s a more traditional part than The Joker so he has less to work with. Lily Cole is the revelation of the movie for me, however, and not just because she’s a hot, 21-year-old top model playing a 16-year-old virgin. She portrays the good doctor’s daughter, Valentina (aka “Scrumpy”), with the perfect balance of innocence, rebellion and filial love. And then there’s Tom Waits. Tom is just the coolest, hands down. All other contenders just give up your ghosts ’cause Waits owns the crown. i could freakin’ listen to him read the warning labels on booze bottles for four hours and still not get tired of his voice.  God Bless You, Tom (and The Devil, too).

As long as i’m talking about the actors, i’d like to drink a toast to Johnny Depp, who really came up to the bar to help Gilliam after Heath  Ledger died, as well as Jude Law and Colin Farrell who did the same. The three actors (according to the  Trivia section at IMDB ) “gave all the income they received for this movie to Heath Ledger’s  daughter Matilda so that her economic future  would be secure.” Another, bigger drink to the three lads.

Buzz Kills (Watch Out for Spoilers)

Sex: 2½ Shots

While there is no nudity (and don’t make me go into another PG-13 rant again), Lily Cole is simply sublime. Ok, she’s no Miss Demeanor but there’s only one of her and she’s mine so forget about it. Speaking of Miss D, though, there are three links to my beloved in this movie:

1. She’s hotter than Lily Cole
2. She has the same birthday as Lily Cole (well, same day, but the years are a little off)
3. She got her sleeve tattoo done by the same artist as Verne Troyer (who plays Percy here and was Mini Me in Austin Powers)

Ok, that’s enough, you’ve even been thinking about Miss Demeanor too long so stop it and let’s get back to how cute Lily Cole is. Like  there’s this scene where she rolls her own cigarette with her own mouth and i swear to god, i’d drink scotch and razor blades through an anal I.V. for a month if i could smoke a cigarette rolled off that tongue.

There’s also a ‘topless’  scene where she sits on stage as Eve (and there’s that ‘choice’ theme popping up again), but Gilliam Titty Blocks her with her hair. ['Titty  Blocking', for those of you new to Booze Revooze, is when an actress is naked but the director hides her boobs through different miss-directing techniques.] Here’s photo-not-graphic-enough proof:
Yeah, i can so buy that she’s sixteen.

As for the rest of Lily:






God Bless the Web (and all who surf there).

Drink: 3 Shots

Actually, i was pleasantly  surprised here.

A drunken lout in the opening scene falls through the mirror and into a lake of empties before being confronted with a choice. There’s a huge, daunting pyramid with 12 craggy ledges he needs to climb to reach  the pinnacle, and a reference to ‘Twelve Steps’ is engraved in the  stone. The other choice is Tom Waits telling him there’s free beer in his derby hat bar. Yeah, like you wouldn’t have made the same choice this guy does…

Parnassus drinks regularly from a fifth, looks like gin to me but it could be another white alcohol. He has to go on stage passed out drunk, he wakes up with hangovers and once he looks like he’s on his last legs when he’s pronounced dead—drunk.

Anton (Andrew Garfield), another player in the troupe, drinks out of a fifth as he sadly sits on the banks of the Thames. Heath Ledger’s  character (Tony) comes over and joins him. Ahhh, i might even give up a cigarette made with Lily Cole spittle just to sit and have a drink with Heath. Ok, pro’lly not really, but i would give it a serious hard think.

You are missed, Heath.
Rock & Roll: 0 Shots

‘0′ as in n0ne.

Boring Technical Crap

Written by: Terry Gilliam & Charles McKeown

Directed by: Terry Gilliam

Starring

Heath Ledger – Tony

Tom Waits – Mr. Nick

Lily Cole – Valentina

Christopher Plummer – Dr. Parnassus

Verne ‘Mini Me’ Troyer – Percy

Bottom Line

Make the choice: See it. Plus, you’re giving money to Matilda Ledger if you do.

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Al K Hall<br />
Functional Alcoholic Slurperson<br />
(No, REALLY. Google &amp;quot;Slurperson&amp;quot; if you don't believe me.)

Last updated: 2010-03-31 20:42:59 by user08

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus: Movie Review

Finally, it is here. After Heath Ledger's untimely death early in 2008, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" has been widely anticipated (well at least in our case that is). And after watching Heath Ledger as the Joker on "The Dark Knight", the build up for his last film just got bigger and bigger. Even better, the best actors of his generation even joined the bandwagon to help finish the film in his honor. Three Hollywood superstars, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell all play different roles as Tony. Terry Gilliam is at the helm and has a momentous task to finish a film that will serve as an end to an actor's unexpected demise. Read on to find out if this will quench our expectations.

"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" is set in the present day. It tells the story of Dr Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) and his extraordinary Imaginarium, a traveling show where the audience can get a chance to experience their most desired imaginations. This is possible because Parnassus is actually blessed with the power of guiding the imaginations of people when he is on a trance. Now, Doctor Parnassus has a dilemma as he has a long-kept secret that will affect his daughter, Valentina (Lily Cole). He made a deal with the devil to get back his mortality and youth to be able to love the girl of his dreams, Valentina's mother. In return though, any children that Parnassus will have will be given to the devil on their 16th birthday. Desperate to protect her from her fate, he has made a new bet with the devil - a race to get 5 souls. If Parnassus wins, he can get his daughter back and if not, the deal will still push through. All looks hopeless until one day, Parnassus and his crew happen upon a hanged man named Tony. Tony has wit and charm that might win souls on Parnassus' side. Can Tony (Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp,Jude Law, Colin Farrell) save Valentina's soul?

"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" is not for everyone. We are pretty sure that a lot of people will hate it and why? Because it is a deep film. It felt like we were doing philosophy and theology classes at the same time when we watched it. It didn't help that the visuals and characters used were sometimes confusing. Now do not get us wrong here - we actually liked the film. The visuals while surreal was truly amazing. All the actors gave their all (yet we feel that no other movie could surpass Ledger's performance as Joker) and we really liked how the Heath Ledger-Johnny Depp transformation happened. We thought it was Heath on screen but it was Johnny already - that caught us by surprise.The biggest downer for the film is probably how the narrative was presented. It will make you scratch your head a lot of times and more so frustrate you - it will require some brain power to really get the hang of the story. This is most probably due to the fact that the movie's lead star wasn't able to complete the film and they did all their best to salvage what they already started. We were still impressed on how they were able to piece together scenes they've already finished with Ledger and scenes with the new actors. The ending was so-so at best which we really felt was out-of-place with how the story was going. Without revealing details, the ending was just a 180-degree turn from how the movie was going 90% before that. In the end, if you are patient enough to try understand what's happening on screen and what the heck the movie is all about, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" will be a rewarding experience. But if you are a movie watcher just out for some fun, then maybe skipping this is a good idea.

Rating: 3 and a half reels 

Why you should watch it:
- surreal visuals that just blew our minds away
- great acting from all actors, even those with minor roles
- if you want to see how they managed to save the film after Ledger's passing

Why you shouldn't watch it
- most people would definitely have a hard time getting what the heck is happening - it was like a philosophy class on screen
- it lacks polish on some areas especially with its narrative and ending

Recommendations:

Last updated: 2010-03-11 19:49:47 by user06

Review: “Doctor Parnassus,” Ledger’s swan song

* * * out of four stars

Terry Gilliam’s “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” is very energetic, quite odd and a little long. It stars Heath Ledger in his final screen role and features incredible visual effects. It’s a very fun film to watch.

The plot is a bit weird. It takes place in I believe modern times, but it features characters who seem stuck in an old children’s book. These characters are Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer, “Star Trek VI,” “Syriana”), his daughter Valentina (Lily Cole), his pupil Anton (Andrew Garfield, “Lions for Lambs”), and his best friend and life buddy Percy (Verne Troyer, “Mini-Me” from the “Austin Powers” series, something he’ll never live down).

The strange group travels the streets of London putting on magic shows in which guests are asked to step into a mirror… into the imagination of Dr. Parnassus. The thing is, the trick is no illusion. Once the mirror is breached, you’re in a world of incredible sights and sounds. But precautions should be taken. People have been known to die behind the mirror. This of course is not explained in the act.

The traveling troupe needs money. Valentina also wants to be free from the show as she is almost 16 and of legal age to do so. Little does she know about the pact Parnassus made with the devil so many years ago.

Everything gets screwed up when they pick up Tony (Ledger), a mysterious fellow who appears to have hanged himself under a bridge. They save him in time, but have several unanswered questions that may decide the fate of the four performers.

Tony enters the “imaginarium” behind the mirror three times. Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose before those scenes could be filmed. So, in keeping with the spirit of “the show must go on,” director Terry Gilliam got actors Johnny Depp (“Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Alice in Wonderland”), Jude Law (“I Heart Huckabees,” “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”) and Colin Farrell (“Miami Vice,” “In Bruges”) to fill in for Heath. To my knowledge, they all refused to be paid for it. These scenes are well done. Depp, Law, and Farrell are exceptional actors, no doubt on Ledger’s level, and they portray Tony as close to Ledger’s version as they can. They do a fine job.

The movie’s problem isn’t its acting. Ledger and crew all turn in superb performances. The problem is the drawn-out plot involving the doctor’s deal with the devil, played by musician Tom Waits. These scenes involving the backstory are rich in detail and fun for the eyes, but they drag out the story, which already feels a little long and detailed to begin with. The most significant instance is a flashback story Parnassus tells his daughter about when he was a monk at a sort of time temple at the edge of the universe. It’s a beautiful scene, but it feels superfluous.

So, all that said, will this final film from Heath Ledger be remembered more than his performance in “The Dark Knight?” No. Definitely not. But it is a lovely and extravagant goodbye from one of the best actors of our time.

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the imaginarium of dr. parnassus

there’s definatly some whacked out stuff going on in there.  i’m pretty sure terry gilliam is trying to say something about religion and choice and free will and morality and coming of age and sex.  i’m just not sure what.  there’s lots of high brow ideas and plays on human nature it just gets a little muddled up and i was constantly trying to figure out exactly what the point was.  what the movie is trying to say.  it’s like it’s trying to say too much and you never get one point coming across very clear.

having said that, it might get added to my collection at some point in the future.  i’m totally in love with lily cole.  she’s my dream girl.  not unlike a porcelal doll come to life.  and the whole thing looks pretty cool.  not the super high tech look of an avatar or anything like that.  in fact, at times the scenery looks downright cheap and hokey.  but to me that’s part of what makes it cool.  money python fans will see some very definitive stylistic ideas that should be familiar.

the whole thing is just kinda weird.  you got this old school traveling show like thing running around in what appears to be a modern day london.  well, they show scenes of an old school london, but the majority takes place in a modern london.  ya got this old drunk dude that just kinda sits there on stage, lily cole looking fabulous just kinda dancing around, this one akward kid trying to lure people to pay for the show and little vern troyer joking that with him, dr. parnassus would have to find a midget.  he says ya know midget, a little taller than me, big heads, pudgy little hands.

i’m not sure why that’s funny but i’m pretty sure it is.

anyway, once you enter the imaginarium you are presented with a choice that you must make.  just like with any choice, there is a consequence.  and i think that’s pretty much the theme throughout the flick.  something like we all must make our own choices and live with the outcome.  i don’t know, i did get lost a little bit.

this movie is unique in the way it uses four actors to play one character.  heath ledger died while they were filming so he couldn’t be there to film all of his scenes.  but that’s okay, since in the imaginarium is kinda like being inside old dr. parnassus’ head, anything can happen right?  so everytime heath’s character enters the imaginarium, he has a different face.  faces played by jude law, colin farrell and johnny depp.

after watching jude law’s scene i got the impression there was one too many stars wanting to pick up for heath ledger but not enough good scenes.  so they just kinda threw that one in there so jude would have something to do and the producers could tell everyone how many superstar actors they had.  when i watch it on dvd, i’ll skip jude’s scene.  sorry jude.  it’s not your fault.  you had nothing to work with.

i don’t know i’ll buy this thing new but i’ll pick it up on the blockbuster 3 for 20 rack.  i did like it.  most of you won’t though.  check out some other terry gilliam films if you are feeling frisky.  and if you like them, you’ll like this one.  but like i said, most of you won’t.

other terry gilliam movies: the brothers grimm, fear and loathing in las vegas, 12 monkeys, the fisher king, the adventures of baron munchausen, brazil and time bandits.  not to mention the great monty python films the life of brian, the meaning of life and the holy grail.

Cal Reed

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus: A Disastarium

The "Imaginarium of..." is about the power of the imagination, the confusion of choice, the struggle between good and evil, the bliss of youth, the fear of growing old, love, jealousy and a few other lofty ideas thrown in for good measure. If only the filmmakers had focused on one subject. Instead movie-goers are tossed about like ships in a storm not knowing what to hold on to escape the inevitable — drowning.

So, that's the bad news. What's good about this magnificent mess of a movie — this fantastagorium — is the acting. Christopher Plummer is the good Doctor who's fighting for the soul of his lovely daughter Valentina (Lily Cole). Heath Ledger (in his final role) Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell round out the stellar cast.

Dr. P is the proprietor of a carnival act that's more than smoke and mirrors. Indeed! For a nominal fee, clients are transported through the looking glass — in this case a full-length mirror — into a land of their imagination. Where's Alice when we need her?

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See you at the movies, The Movie Slut

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Heath Ledger's last movie ya'll! The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus by the brilliant Terry Gilliam.



The film is set in present day about Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) a 1,000 year old travelling showman who has the power to guide people into a dream world of their imaginations, made a deal with the Devil to exchange his old daughter's soul when she turns 16 for his immortality. As time runs out, Parnassus and his travelling show rushes to find a way to break the deal just as a mysterious stranger (Heath Ledger) appears and offers help for the Imaginarium.




The special effects were fantastic as well. The sequences inside the Imaginarium are breathtaking especially Jude Laws ladder running scene, that was really cool. Johnny Depp has a very small appearence in the film and Colin Farrell provides a very surprising twist to Heath Ledger's character. Won't reveal any spoilers.. just watch the film.


Verne Troyer finally proves that he can act! Most of Christohper Plummer's best scenes were when he was with Verne Troyer's character who holds as the voice of reason behind the whole crazy exploits of Imaginarium. Verne Troyer? Voice of reason? Yeah unorthodox I know but it worked great for him.



On the production side, I really have to give it up to Terry Gilliam and the writers who cleverly edited Imaginarium to work around Heath Ledger's death. As you know, he died in the middle of shooting but the crew utilised his scenes and combined them with Depp, Law and Farrell's scenes quite nicely. Ledger's transformation into the different versions of Tony was really well done & it made sense.


So now the big question still remains. Did he go out with a bang? Does this film do Heath Ledger justice?  My opinion... No it doesn't. Not by a long shot.


Imaginarium sees Heath Ledger return to the usual romance Casanova role he is used to playing. I couldn't  believe the same person playing Tony in Imaginarium pulled off the greatest cinema villain of the 2000's cause he was quite bland to be honest.



He seemed like he was having a lot of fun but everything of his acting here was just.... mediocre. Maybe it was the health state Heath was in at the time of filming or something I guess The Joker was just a one hit wonder for him.


Overall, good film, unfortunate mediocre acting by Heath Ledger. Quite a shame really that this had to be his last. He will always be remembered as The Joker in my books.

RATING: 6/10

NicholasC

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Terry Gilliam has a reverence for failure. In his movie The Fisher King, Jeff Bridges talks (ruefully) of Nietzsche’s “bungled and botched…expendable masses” who “get close to greatness, but never get there.” In a Gilliam movie, the hero is always either a fool or a madman, someone who sees much but blows his chances, aims high but is often speared by the world. As screen alter-egos go, these characters are candidly self-lacerating. Alexander Pope’s aphorism “To err is human…” is like a dare to Gilliam. He needs to conceive of movies that can’t work in order to prove that they can. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is a case in point.

A Faust-like character named after the home of the ancient Muses, Doctor Parnassus is a thousand-year-old fool and a gambler. Long ago, he made a deal with the Devil that would grant him eternal life, on condition that, should Parnassus ever have a daughter, at the age of sixteen she would become the Devil’s prize. Through centuries, the Devil has toyed with Parnassus, but now, in present-day London, the Doctor meets a young man who may be able to help him outfox Beelzebub. One problem is: the young man comes to Parnassus with no memory. The other problem is: this maybe-saviour is found hanging by a noose from London Bridge.

Heath Ledger literally enters dead. It’s a first scene so stupendously tactless that it stops you worrying (in an odd way) what your reaction should be to his final performance. While the audience is weighing up the moral vicissitudes of even looking at Ledger, Gilliam strings him up for starters. My bet is; the actor would have liked the honesty of this approach. There was something about Heath Ledger – his carpenter’s face, the ridges of his smile; his oft-abused hair – that said: to hell with propriety. He made a lot of crap, and you sensed he knew it, but also you sensed the crap was bearing him somewhere. Parnassus is not his destination, but – playing a man who tricks the Devil, cheats death, and wows the girls – Ledger appears like a tantalising ghost… making promises we know he can’t keep.

As Parnassus and the Devil, respectively, Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits play their roles broad, the way Gilliam likes it. Plummer (a man who once played a Shakespeare-loving Klingon in a Star Trekmovie) has no problem with the surreal nature of his character. He latches on the wrongheaded, stubborn, King Lear-ness of Parnassus and even manages to dangle from a CGI cliff with an air of tragedy. He’s abetted by Waits, who brings out the Vaudeville in the Devil’s act. Like archaic comedians going through a clapped-out routine, they circle each other – professional, even cordial, in their blood feud.

London in Parnassus is Lily Cole, the model-turned-actress who plays the Doctor’s daughter. Cole, who looks like Millais’s “Ophelia”, has one of those now-hard, now-soft London voices that speak of money and getting unexpectedly stabbed in the dark (a pretty accurate hint of the city), and Gilliam dresses her to look like a homeless girl caught in a lingerie advert. She can’t act, but looking the way she does, it hardly matters. Much the way, a thousand years ago, Uma Thurman appeared in Gilliam’s Baron Munchausen as Venus, now Cole adopts the role of Beauty for Beauty’s Sake.

There’s a curate’s egg quality to The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Admittedly, with that mouthful of a title, the end result was unlikely to be without flaws. But, as ever with Terry Gilliam, all the broken pieces are somehow precious. After all, nobody else on Earth would make a movie like this. A clattering, dazzling, Heath Robinson contraption, filled with idiosyncrasies and gormless, half-noble ideas; it’s not a monument to Heath Ledger, but rather, the sort of movie that Heath’s success allowed him to risk. Don’t go in expecting it all to make sense. It’s a story of failure. Some are bound to get lost.

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The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - ***

Starring:  Heath Ledger, Lily Cole, Christopher Plummer, Tom Waits, Verne Troyer, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell

Review:  This movie was definitely out there, there is a lot to take in and some of it will definitely leave you scratching your head going "huh?"  However, as the name would suggest the movie is not without imagination. 

The movie centers around the 1000 year old Doctor Parnassus and his traveling imaginarium.  The great spectacle of this show is a mirror that, once Parnassus is in a monk like trance, has mystical properties.  Someone can pass through the mirror and enter a world in which their imagination takes over and they ultimately find themselves having to make a choice in which their soul is at stake.  The choice is between going the way of Doctor Parnassus (the high road) or the way of Mr. Nick (the low road).  Mr. Nick, of course, is the devil and has been battling Parnassus for souls in a series of bets for the last 1000 years or so.  One of those bets involved his daughter, that she would be given to Mr. Nick on her 16th birthday. 

Mr. Nick has come to collect, but as he loves to make bets, he decides to wager Parnassus' daughter again.  Mr. Nick and Dr. Parnassus agree that the first one to 5 souls wins his daughter.  During their travels, the group encounters a man hanging from the side of a bridge, seemingly dead.  This man is the mysterious Tony who turns out not to be dead at all, and may actually be a good addition to the group as he is able to sell more tickets to their show and get more people into the imaginarium.  I will stop with the plot here as there are a few twists in it that shouldn't be given away here.

The movie is very well shot with good special effects and some good performances.  Heath Ledger playing the mysterious Tony does a great job and only serves to anger me more that his life was cut short right as he was coming into his own as an actor.  He will still go down as one of the greatest actors of my generation and we are only left to wonder how great his career could have been.  As publicized, Ledger died during the filming of this movie and Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrel were tapped to pick up the role.  This actually fits as a decent plot device where Tony changes form when he goes through the mirror to fit the imagination of the person who travels through with him.  Nobody's role quite encompasses Ledgers but it is an interesting device nonetheless.

The rest of the crew is cast perfectly Lily Cole is absolutely gorgeous and plays the part of the innocently tempting soon to be 16 year old Valentina very well.  She is the centerpiece of the movie, holds her own next to great actors such as Ledger and Christopher Plummer.  She did not seem out of place with all the talent around her.  Christopher Plummer give a great performance of an immortal who is conflicted and tired of life and the constant battle with Mr. Nick.  Verne Troyer has limited acting abilities but he plays the "Jiminy Cricket" moral voice role very well.  Finally, the best performance of the movie belongs Tom Waits.  Waits plays Mr. Nick and I can't imagine anyone playing a personified version of the devil any better than how he played it in this movie.  Waits, with his constant cigarette and gravely voice, takes hold of each scene he is in as a being who knows he is eternal and the only fun he can glean from his existence is making constant bets.  This serves as the plot vehicle of the movie but also serves as the motivation because Mr. Nick never has anything real riding on the bets and only wants to play so he can lose, just so he has motivation to play again to see if he can win.

The movie will no doubt divide people on those who think it's good, those who think it's bad, and those who think "what the flip just happened?"  This is understandable, but I enjoyed the movie for the sum of it's parts more than it's whole.  The story was pretty loose but each scene had a purpose and was well done.  This movie is not for everyone, but if you can appreciate the smaller parts of movies then you will enjoy this one.

The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus

Terry Gilliam has a wild and wonderful imagination that is displayed in all his movies. Some of his movies are somewhat unsuccessful because they are over stuffed and meandering but are never boring. His best constructed film is probably 'Brazil' which I like but am not a huge fan of. My favorite Gilliam movies like 'Fisher King' and 'Time Bandits' are full of flights of fancy and are masterpieces to me. 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' fits into the meandering, over stuffed category though like all Gilliam films it is breathtaking to look at! The visual effects are sumptuous and when the movie lags the cinematography picks it up. A dark shadow is hovering over the movie because of the death half way through filming of Heath Ledger. Ledger was a huge blow to me because he was the best actor of his age range. Though that death doesn't affect the story in any way and Gilliam does a great job of filling in the work Ledger missed with other, great and intense actors like him. The story is a little complicated for my own good but it involves a travelling circus show that is run by Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer)and his daughter and a dwarf played by Verne Troyer (Austin Powers). The Doctor sold his soul to the devil played by Tom Waits and he has to come up with five souls to get back his immortality. They pick up a stranger played by Ledger who was about to kill himself or was that really what happened? The story to me then meanders and I grew a little restless with what seemed to me dialogue that didn't move the story forward. The jumping between the real World and the World within the show gets tiring. The movie needed another go around in editing because it feels messy and unglued. Heath Ledger is very good but I couldn't enjoy his performance because it seemed the story and dialogue was distracting me. Verne Troyer is also excellent as is the rest of the cast and Ferrell, Law and Depp are wonderful finishing up Ledger's role. The visual effects are astonishing and I would recommend the film slightly on those effects and if you want to see Ledger in his final role. I can't recommend the film entirely because I felt a little cold towards the story. At least Gilliam is one of the few storytellers now who has a real wonderful imagination.

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Vincent Snavely

Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Movie Review)

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is weird, colorful and truly imaginative. Written by Charles McKeown and Terry Gilliam and directed by Gilliam, Imaginarium is not for everyone, but if you have an open mind for the odd, you’ll enjoy it.

Imaginarium is the story of traveling carnival–like psychic, Dr. Parnassus, played beautifully by Christopher Plummer and his relationships with daughter Valentina (Lily Cole), confidante Percy (Verne Troyer) and magician Anton (Andrew Garfield).

Parnassus plays mind/mirror games with people which enables them to actually visit their imagination. Now Dr. Parnassus faces a problem. Centuries ago (yes, he’s that old) he made a deal with the Devil in the form of Mr. Nick (Tom Waits) involving his daughter and the Devil has come to collect. While traveling from one town to another and trying to figure out how to outwit the Devil, his company saves the life of hanging -by -his -neck, Tony (Heath Ledger). What follows is complicated to explain but fascinating to follow.

During the making of the movie, Heath Ledger died. Rather than recast and reshoot the entire film or scratch the film entirely, Gilliam decided to cast other actors in the role of Tony, each one having their own go with someone’s imagination. Somehow this works and it works seamlessly as played by Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell. All actors are very strong, but Depp is the first new Tony we meet and at first one doesn’t even realize the change has been made, he’s that terrific. He’s not trying to be Heath Ledger, but he’s so good, it’s hard to remember that Ledger was in the film to begin with.

If you have a taste for something very unique and a desire to see special effects put to fascinating use,/</iga href="http://joansnuggets.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/dr-imaginarium.jpg"/>/ig you’ll want to see The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.


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Last updated: 2010-01-22 06:42:08 by jfuchsman

The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus

Heath Ledger’s last movie seemed to sneak in and out of theaters somewhat quietly, and I missed my chance to see it the first time around. So when it was released on DVD yesterday I jumped at the chance to check out what looked like an imaginative modern fairy tale.
 
Doctor Parnassus made a deal with the devil over 1,000 years ago that grants him immortality. But in exchange, his daughter belongs to the devil on her 16^th birthday. He now has two days to make good on a new deal with the devil that will spare his daughter: Find five souls who will choose good over evil before the devil does.
 
Subjects are put to the test by entering a fantasy world created by the mind of Doctor Parnassus. They are given a choice between something self-serving and something more pure or noble.
 
The race to find five who will make the right choice drives much of the movie, but as is common in Terry Gilliam films, the experience is more about strangeness and spectacle than it is about plot. Fans of Gilliam’s earlier work like Brazil and The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen will find “Parnassus” to be a welcome return to a style they enjoy.
 
The visual design of the film is very inviting. The rickety old stage-wagon of the traveling troupe and the renaissance inspired wardrobe of the performers serve up a portion of timelessness that will age the film well. The special effects of the dream-like Imaginarium are by no means realistic, but the film doesn’t require them to be. The world of the Imaginarium is filled with unexpected yet very fitting imagery. A major highlight of the movie.
 
Christopher Plummer delivers some of his finest (and possibly most sympathetic) work as the title character. He is supported by Heath Ledger (who turned in a fine, if not memorable performance), Tom Waits (an excellent “Gilliam-type” devil and great casting choice!) and model turned actress Lily Cole. But the standout performer for me was supporting cast member Andrew Garfield. He is the love interest of Cole and a fellow troupe member and figures prominently in the story. Every scene he was in seemed to elevate the realism of the characters around him. His scenes seemed marked by improvisation that gave credibility to the awkwardness and emotions of his character.
 
As you may know, Heath Ledger died after filming only one-third of the movie. But the decision was made to move forward and recast Ledger’s role with Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell, who played the same character as Ledger as he traversed the dream-like Imaginarium. With a subtle change to an early scene in the film, it is quickly established that one’s personal appearance can change while inside the Imaginarium. So the transition to new actors for the same role is prepared for. Even so, the change is a bit distracting to the film, especially knowing the reason for it. Though all three guest stars perform admirably and are fun to watch.
 
Gilliam does not seem interested in having people understand his films from top to bottom and often leaves things unexplained. The same is true of this movie. But none of these unexplained elements are crucial to the plot and it seems as though Gilliam doesn’t want you to take his film that seriously anyway.
 
Thematically, this movie deals with death, morality and even the foundational nature of the universe.
 
It is explained early on that the existence of the universe is sustained by stories. As long as someone somewhere is telling a story, the universe will remain intact. Combine this with numerous architectural reference to Eastern religious tradition and you can take a guess at the philosophies that inspired this story. The concept of human-told stories sustaining the universe would indicate that humans are the ultimate power in existence. In another scene, the deceased are even referred to as “gods”.
 
Morality is murky at best and the line between good and evil is pretty blurry in this movie. These are further indications of Eastern religious influence or at least relativism in general.
 
The lack of logical consistency is fitting for the fairy tale nature of the story and Gilliam is probably not trying to “say” anything with this movie. But it still never hurts to recognize the weakness of relativistic philosophy when applied to anything outside of fairy tales.
 
This is an enjoyable movie that combines both dark themes and light-hearted fun into a modern fairy tale worth checking out. The characters and story are fairly forgettable, but the experience created by the visuals presented and the carefree atmosphere of the film is easily worth a one dollar rental. Probably a five dollar rental, too!
 
Quality: 8.5/10
 
Relevance: 8.0/10
 
 
www.spiritblade.net/paeter
www.spiritblade.net/podcast
 
 

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