The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - Movie Review

By Ron Wilkinson Jan 6, 2010, 9:36 GMT

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is a fantastical morality tale, set in the present day. It tells the story of Dr Parnassus and his extraordinary \'Imaginarium\', a travelling show where members of the audience get an irresistible opportunity to choose between light and joy or darkness and gloom. Blessed with the extraordinary gift of guiding the imaginations of others, Dr Parnassus is cursed with a dark secret. Long ago he ...more

A film that was brought back from the worst of bad luck, “Dr. Parnassus” is a fascinating collection of things that might have been

Terry Gilliam may have thought he had seen all the bad luck he would ever see when he started on the “Imaginarium” project.  But he had not seen anything yet.  The film featured Heath Ledger in the lead role of Tony, Dr. Parnassus’ ally and daughter Valentina’s lover interest.  Sadly, the Oscar winning actor (Batman “Dark Knight,” also nominated for “Brokeback Mountain”) died of an accidental drug overdose in New York about halfway through principle shooting.

Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell agreed to finish the shooting gratis in return for a pledge by the filmmakers that Ledger’s proceeds from the film would go to his four year old daughter Matilda Rose. The script was rewritten to allow a change in appearance of Tony each time he passed through the mirrored curtain allowing the film to be completed without any digital special effects.  The result is nearly perfect and has resulted in the completion of a legitimately acted film without hocus-pocus.

Of the three actors replacing Ledger thrice Oscar nominated Johnny Depp provides the most inspired performance.  He was close to Ledger in real life and they both were intrigued by unusual screenplays such as Depp’s “Ed Wood” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”  In the opening sequences of “Imaginarium” one expects to see Depp jump from the gypsy caravan at any time.  He is clearly in his element playing the gifted, mystical and yet thoroughly grounded Tony.

Director Gilliam had a great vision for this film and does a good job of bringing it to life. The sets are world class and are expertly meshed into the blue screen special effects backgrounds (thanks to Bridge Studios in Vancouver, Canada). The costumes and make-up are also out of this world, both literally and figuratively. They take the viewer directly into a sparkling and colorful world of old-fashioned carnie nuttiness combined with the creepiness of the seedier areas of present day London. Never fear, for the younger members of the audience the creepiness is kept well in check and the good guys (nearly) always win in the end. The passage from the caravan stage to the abstract fantasy of the other world is accomplished slickly and with a minimum of fuss.

Counting nearly two hundred credits stretching back to classic 1950’s TV potboilers Christopher Plummer is best known for his Golden Globe nomination for the “American Tragedy” series on TV and as the empathetic psychologist in “A Beautiful Mind.”  He does an outstanding job playing the part of the powerful but doomed magician Dr. Parnassus.  The part does not demand a huge range since Parnassus is either drunk, senile or both through most of the film.  Even so Plummer manages to extract the maximum laughs from the pratfalls of the old man while wringing out a few heartaches at the same time.

The film reflects some of the beautiful humor and hallucinatory fantasy of the Monty Python series while retaining some of the romantic softness of the Oscar sweeper “Moulin Rouge!”  Unfortunately it also carries on the tradition of simple rotten luck that Terry Gilliam has had with his pictures since graduating from “Monty Python.”  It is a miracle that the film was completed. That was only possible because of some magical rewriting and the generous efforts of the three stand-ins, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell.

Tom Waits is a spectacular composer (Oscar nominated for “One from the Heart” soundtrack) and accomplished musical performer but he is no actor. It is a credit to Terry Gilliam that he gets through this film. Gilliam was not so successful with model Lily Cole (playing Dr. Parnassus’ daughter Valentina). Her main lines are a series of shrieks towards the end of the film. We all would have been better off without them. Verne Troyer’s (“Mini-Me in the Austin Powers series) work as the supporting crew for the Dr. Parnassus traveling road show threatens to steal the show.

Directed by: Terry Gilliam
Written by: Terry Gilliam and Charles McKeown

Starring: Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits

Release: December 23, 2009 - expanded January 8, 2010
MPAA: PG (Canada)
Runtime: 115 minutes
Country: US
Language: English
Color: Color