Film Review : The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus

Terry Gilliam's film career has generally never been one to court the easy option or to produce an "easy" movie. Where he's attempted the latter (e.g. The Brothers Grimm) it's usually been a bit of a failure. His best movies have tended to be the ones that have allowed his imagination full flow onto the screen - Brazil, in its intended form, being perhaps the best evidence of that.

Occasionally, the mainstream and Gilliam have crossed paths and both The Fisher King and Twelve Monkeys are examples of imaginative and popular cinema that we perhaps don't see enough of these days.

His latest film has received more publicity than most given that its' star, Heath Ledger, passed away during the shoot. Most people were probably ready to put this down as another piece of bad luck of the type that seemingly has nothing better to do than follow Gilliam around. After some thought, Gilliam decided that there was a way to finish the film (as appeared to be the desire of the others involved in the production) without impinging on the credibility of either film or Ledger's memory.

I'm delighted to report that this has been achieved with some distinction. The movie is full of the surrealism and imagination that we've come to expect from Gilliam, but the tale itself is remarkably linear. Certainly, those who perhaps enjoy the visual aspects of Gilliam in full flight but find themselves scratching their heads in puzzlement at what it all meant will find this to be a pleasure.

Ledger's absence was dealt with (as has been more than adequately reported elsewhere) by his character being played by Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell. The general idea of looks being transformed when you step behind the mirror into Doctor Parnassus imagination is set early on so it's no surprise when Ledger's transformation into his three friends occurs.

The story itself is a morality tale involving the Devil (excellently played by Tom Waits) , the titular Doctor (Christopher Plummer in top form) and his daughter (played by relative newcomer Lily Cole - there's no doubt we'll be seeing more of her in the future). Parnassus having previously made a deal with the Devil to gain immortality had entered into a subsequent deal which allowed him to capture the woman of his dreams. As with all such deals this came at a price, and that involved any offspring from the union to become the property of the Devil on their 16th birthday. Needless to say, the story commences a few days before this event.

Ledger is introduced into the tale as a mysterious stranger who was found seemingly hanged. Who is he, and why was he found in that condition? Is he a friend sent to assist Parnassus, or a trick of the Devil to make sure that the consequences of the pact comes to fruition?

Parnassus moves around London with a travelling circus which allows people to enter his imagination via a mirror, and it is by entering this that the other characters covering Ledgers' part come into play. Each time a different element of the character is revealed until the truth is revealed about his life.

It would appear that all of Ledgers' shots were concerned with the "real" world before his untimely death, and the transformations to the other actors works extremely well and seems well in fitting with the story.

Ledger's performance is very good but not quite as all encompassing as his Joker. It is nevertheless clear that the film world lost an actor of the highest calibre with his untimely passing.

This is a wonderfully imaginative film that, whilst not quite up there with Gilliam's best, should do extremely well on the back of the unwanted publicity that it has received. Hopefully, it will encourage others to investigate some of the more challenging areas of Gilliam's canon.