THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS

by Gordon

Directed by: Terry Gilliam

Released: 2010

Rating: PG-13 [violent images, some sensuality, language and smoking]

Runtime: 123 min.

Main Cast: Christopher Plummber, Heath Ledger, Tom Waits, Andrew Garfield, Lily Cole, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell

Rotten Tomatoes: 64%                    IMDB: 7.2/10

 

   I’ve been a fan of Terry Gilliam since childhood, first drawn to him through his involvement with the Monty Python troupe back in the 70s. But as the least funny and only non-English member, it wasn’t until I witnessed his further creative efforts as director of such films as 1985’s Brazil and 1998’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas that I truly respected the man as a visionary. It’s obvious in his work that Gilliam thrives on and aims for the most imaginative of ideas. But it must be hell for the director to have these imaginations and not see them truly brought to their full visual splendor onscreen. It’s been the case in his previous films, and it’s still the case in his most recent, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

   Initial trailers certainly spiked my interest in the yet another sci-fi fantasy “teeming” with giant, impossible architecture, colorful, dreamlike landscapes and fanciful, larger-than-life characters. When I finally saw the film, I shouldn’t have been surprised that it in fact wasn’t teeming with these elements at all, simply showing them off as a teaser. Much of the film’s footage, the non-fantasy bits, turned out to be a bit raw and unfinished-looking, at least moreso than I would have expected from Gilliam.

   Christopher Plummer, now old as ever, ironically plays the thousand-year-old Doctor Parnassus, the ringleader of a theater troupe that includes his daughter Valentina (Lily Cole), sleight of hand expert Anton (Andrew Garfield), and confidant Percy (Verne Troyer) who travel the modern English landscape in their whimsical dress and wagon, offering what few spectators may come the opportunity to step into a mirror and live within their imagination. As the antagonist, Mr. Nick, or the devil (who I only later realized was played by Tom Waits), makes a wager with Parnassus for the customers’ souls over whether they ultimately choose between stories and imagination or addictions and feeble desires. I couldn’t help but see a bit of the director himself played out in the character of Parnassus, an often-confused, often-underappreciated and misunderstood proponent for sparking imagination in others.

   What also drew me into the picture, more before than during, was the added presence of Heath Ledger in the film, which, coming off the heels of his brilliant performance in The Dark Knight, and following his premature death which subsequently halted the movie’s production, made me all the more curious over his part in the film. Though not nearly as memorable a character as was his villainous Joker, he does a fine acting job, along with Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell, who all aided their talents to recover the incomplete scenes involving Ledger. And Gilliam accomplishes the transition with more ease than one would have thought possible.

   The visuals in this movie really are spectacular, because even when they appear cheesy or undercooked themselves, they’re still unique from anything else being done before or today. But as far as story goes, Gilliam sometimes gives us more credit than we deserve in expecting us to follow the fantastical character relations and dialogue that, about half the time, I couldn’t follow. Just as a dream can get muddled down by the obscurities and nonsensicals of a mind on the loose, so go Gilliam’s dreams with Parnassus. And yet instead of letting his learned sense of mainstream loose on them, he courageously flaunts them onscreen, untamed, anyway. And in the end, muddled or not, I respect his decision.