Review: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Release Date: January 8, 2010 (Limited)
Rating: PG-13 mild language, smoking, sexuality and some violence
Starring: Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Lily Cole, Andrew Garfield and Verne Troyer
Writer/Director: Terry Gilliam (and co-writer Charles McKeown)
Official Website: Here
Terry Gilliam is the type of director that has such a distinct style that from the first few scenes you just know your watching one of his films. His movies are colorful, fantastic and visually amazing but I have to admit at times his stories can get a bit lost in the art. That’s not to say that I am not a fan of his, it’s just that you have to understand what your in for when you sit down to watch a movie like Doctor Parnassus or one of his earlier films like The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. This fantasy adventure is full of rich characters, creative special effects and mildly confusing plot twists that made for a pretty good experience overall.
Basically the story is about Doctor Parnassus himself (Plummer) who gains immortality by winning a wager with the devil. This begins a long and seemingly obsessive string of bets that he and the devil make which end up costing Parnassus his only child – Valentina (Cole) who at the age of 16 will belong to the devil. Lily Cole, who is actually a very successful fashion model, did a surprisingly great job as the tenacious Valentina while others like Plummer and the late Heath Ledger also not-so-surprisingly gave wonderful performances. Verne Troyer was really delightful in this film providing basically the majority of comic relief in otherwise a very complex fantasy-drama. I think the film wouldn’t have had have it’s charm without his humorous role.
I was a little thrown off by the interchanging parts played by Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Collin Farrell but it was an obvious necessity since the role was only half filmed by Heath Ledger when he died suddenly. But even with the re-writes that I am sure had to change the whole outline of the film just to get it finished, it was pretty good even if a little more fluff than substances in some scenes. I do wish that Ledger had played more of a positive role since this was his last film appearance due to his tragic death. His last two roles were antagonistic with him being first the Joker in the Dark Knight and then the slick and conniving Tony in this one. His sudden death was incredibly sad and I thought it was very kind of the three actors filling in for him to donate their salaries for the film to his daughter Matilda.
Bottom Line: BEAUTIFUL EVEN IF SLIGHTLY LACKING SUBSTANCE
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