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- Starring: Christopher Plummer, Heath Ledger, Tom Waits, Verne Troyer, Lily Cole, Andrew Garfield, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell
- Written By: Terry Gilliam and Charles McKeown
- Directed By: Terry Gilliam
- Series:
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus: Mania Review
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus: Step Right Up By
Rob Vaux
December 24, 2009
First look at Terry Gilliam's upcoming THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS(2008).
© Davis Film
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus finds Heath Ledger right where we left him--suspended in limbo, waiting to be pushed towards either heaven or hell. More specifically, his character has been hanged from London Bridge, an unintentionally shocking sight which the curious should be warned about before setting foot in the theater. Ledger's turn here lacks the power of the Joker, but his earnest enthusiasm still makes for a poignant curtain call that its unsettling beginning cannot diminish.
As for the remainder of the film, it exemplifies both the strengths and the shortcomings for which director Terry Gilliam has become known. Technology has finally caught up with his imagination; never before has his work appeared more like a live-action manifestation of those wonderfully bizarre Monty Python cartoons. The script provides an admirable fulcrum for such musings with the title contraption--run by a former Tibetan monk (Christopher Plummer) who cut a deal with the devil (Tom Waits), and which now reveals the dreams and temptations of those who venture into it.
Gilliam envisions it in appropriately anachronistic terms. Plummer's Dr. Parnassus carries the Imaginarium in a dilapidated horse-drawn circus wagon through the streets of 21st century London, issuing carnival barker hustles in half-empty parking lots in an attempt to induce jaded suburbanites into enlightenment. The device itself is apparently composed of Mylar and cardboard--hardly anything worth noting until you step through it and find yourself in a vista of unbounded wonder. It encapsulates one of Gilliam's favorite themes: beauty and fulfillment thrust in front of an audience that just isn't listening.
Parnassus is aided by a dwarvish assistant (Verne Troyer), a handsome young hanger-on (Andrew Garfield) and his daughter Valentina (Lily Cole) who, in the aforementioned deal, must be turned over to Mr. Scratch in just a few days. Then Ledger's mysterious Tony drops into the picture, bursting with ideas about how to find them more customers and perhaps holding the key to outwitting Satan for good. He carries baggage of his own, of course--not all of which is initially clear--and his aims may not be entirely selfless. But with only a short time remaining until the infernal bill comes due, Parnassus isn't inclined to quibble over details.
The particulars remain frustratingly vague at times. Like Tim Burton, plot never really concerns Gilliam, and his rambling path here is filled with numerous shaggy dogs, side tracks and dead ends. Vital information comes across almost incidentally in some scenes, while other material seems forgotten entirely. As traditional storytelling, it leaves a lot to be desired. Gilliam, however, is anything but traditional, and what Parnassus lacks in narrative cohesion, it makes up for in tone, thematics and pure imagination. The landscapes beyond the Imaginarium are unparalleled, stuffed to the gills with all manner of wonders and set loose with the same surreal glee that infuses the director's best projects. Like Parnassus's customers, our questions tend to die out once the effects budget kicks into overdrive, resurfacing only after the credits have long since rolled.
Much of that indulgence depends on the cast, who give us real personalities to cling to and whose dynamics let us keep the disorienting lantern show in context. Plummer carries the bulk of it, fostering fascinating relationships with Troyer and Cole in ways which neither of the other actors could handle on their own. His dynamic with the Devil is particularly engaging: a pair of old adversaries who have crossed swords for so long they practically feel like friends. ("You want some gum?" Waits asks as a way of consolation at one point.)
But the real crux of the film is Ledger, appearing here for the last time in a performance at once fascinating and problematic. He has less direction to work with here than he did in The Dark Knight and you can see him struggle to create a cohesive character out of whole cloth. That he succeeds more often than he fails is a minor miracle--as strong a testament to the actor's talent as any--complicated by the appearance of three other performers (Jude Law, Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell) who portray Tony within the Imaginarium. In many ways, the character constitutes all that is great and terrible about the film: held together on a wing and a prayer, incoherent at times but never less than fascinating. Dr. Parnassus contains things you've never seen before, rendered by a director whose vision has no peer. Gilliam's fans know his flaws by heart by now… and are happy to forgive them because his strengths are always worth it.
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I wonder if this movie will do well just because of the death of Heath Ledger. Of course I'm being sarcastic. I just find it funny, still, that people still say that about The Dark Knight. I can't wait to see this anyhow. Terry Gilliam is the bomb. Hopefully he'll get to that Don Quixote movie one day or even Good Omens.