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‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’ has been widely described as director Terry Gilliam’s masterpiece. Yet, aside for die-hard Gilliam fans, this is not the main attraction for average cinema-goers, but rather the hype surrounding the untimely demise of Heath Ledger during filming.
Instead of scrapping the film altogether, as Gilliam did in ‘The Man Who Killed Don Quixote’, or resorting to CGI to digitally recreate Ledger, Gilliam decided to film the ‘Imaginarium’ sequences using three different actors for Ledger’s character Tony: Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell. Surprisingly, this works extremely well, and although most viewers will be well aware of the reasons behind this, it does not detract away from the storyline, as these characters merge in the same brilliant way that Gilliam blends reality with fantasy in the film.
Welcome to the world of 1,000 year-old Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) and his travelling company of performers, which include his beautiful daughter Valentina (Lily Cole), illusionist Anton (Andrew Garfield) and midget Percy (Verne Troyer). Unbeknown to his daughter, Parnassus has gambled with the devilish Mr Nick (Tom Waits) and lost, meaning that Mr Nick is to have possession of Valentina on her 16th birthday, which is just three days away as the film begins. Yet, always the gambler, Mr Nick places one last wager: ‘the first to five souls’ between Parnassus and himself keeps Valentina. The arrival of the mysterious Tony, first portrayed in a poignant shot of Ledger hanging by his neck and apparently dead, changes the dynamic within the company as Parnassus prepares to save his daughter.
It is by entering through a magical mirror in Parnassus’ possession that both the characters’ and Gilliam’s imagination is let loose. For a child, this new world is full of chocolate and video games, for a particular woman it is a haven of shoes, jewellery and forbidden sex. Although there is a vast amount of CGI in these scenes, there are also realms in the ‘Imaginarium’ that are created from cardboard cut-outs – much more like Gilliam’s surreal settings in ‘Brazil’ and ‘Time Bandits’.
The similarities to Gilliam’s past work don’t end here; there are nods to Gilliam’s contributions to Monthy Python, most evident in a musical scene where policemen dance in fishnets and heels, and the darker ‘reality’ scenes by Battersea Power Station are strangely reminiscent of the fantasy elements of ‘Twelve Monkeys’.
Despite the stellar cast, and the wonderful blur of bizarre fantasy and magical realism, the film’s finale is disappointing. It seems slightly incohesive, even for a dream-like sequence, and definitely requires a second viewing to work out the fast-paced ending.
Yet, ending aside, the film visually remains one of Gilliam’s finest works, and merits a great review, particularly considering the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the film. Ultimately the viewer is left with the final words ‘A film from Heath Ledger and friends’ which really echoes the overshadowing feel of the film, for despite the film’s brilliance, it will forever be remembered as Ledger’s last living work.
