After Heath Ledger’s tragic death in January 2008, it was wondered if director Terry Gilliam would be able to finish his latest project, “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. However, after a few well-known actors stepped in to finish the role that Ledger started and after a few rewrites, the project was able to be completed. What Gilliam ended up with is a return to his fantasy roots.
The film begins with a traveling show known as “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.” The titular Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) offers people the chance to explore their imaginations by stepping through his magic mirror. He is joined by his daughter, Valentina (Lily Cole), and two other performers, Anton (Andrew Garfield) and Percy (Verne Troyer). One night, they notice a man hanging from a bridge and try to rescue him. Remarkably, they are able to bring him back to life, but the man has no idea who he is. Eventually it is discovered that the man’s name is Tony (Heath Ledger and Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Ferrell).
Tony begins to earn his keep with the traveling show by attempting to attract customers, something he is very good at. Meanwhile, we slowly learn of Parnassus’s past, during which he made a deal with the devil known as Mr. Nick (Tom Waits). Their first deal involved trying to attract souls, Mr. Nick with his own way, Parnassus using the power of the imagination. Parnassus had won with his prize being immortality. After sacrificing his immortality for a woman, Parnassus makes another deal with Mr. Nick in order to regain it. However, the deal is that, on her 16th birthday, his daughter would go to Mr. Nick.
It was such a relief to see that Gilliam was able to finish this project, what with the terrible luck he’s had in the past decade or so. Everyone who’s seen the great documentary “Lost in La Mancha” knows of the terrible time he had in trying to get his film about Don Quixote off the ground. Everything that could have gone wrong did. There were freakish storms, scheduling problems, budgetary concerns, and his main actor was eventually unable to ride a horse.
Gilliam also made another film with Heath Ledger called “The Brothers Grimm,” a film that seemed to focus more on how it looked than the actually story. Then there was Gilliam’s last directorial effort, the incredibly awful “Tideland.” Now he brings us a unique film in which we get to visit his imagination once more just like in the good old days of “Brazil” or “Time Bandits.”
The most fascinating scenes of this film are those that take place inside the “imaginarium.” The special effects are truly outstanding. In a way, it’s like what Peter Jackson tried to do with “The Lovely Bones,” but Gilliam knows when to say when with the special effects and doesn’t allow them to drive the story.
The stand-out performances all come from the actors playing Tony. In the real world, he is played by Heath Ledger (these were the only scenes he filmed before his passing). He is mysterious, yet surprisingly knowledgeable when he chooses to be, which is strange for a man with amnesia. Inside the “imaginarium,” Tony takes on different forms. First, he is played by Johnny Depp, who tries to point a woman towards the right choice. On the next trip into the mirror, he is played by Jude Law, during which he is being chased by some fellows who believe they know him. Finally, for the third trip, he is played by Colin Ferrell for the remainder of the film.
Each of these wonderful actors gives their own little touches to the character of Tony and are delightful to watch. It’s especially touching to know that Depp, Law, and Ferrell are honoring Ledger by completing his final role and that they donated all of their earnings from this film to his daughter, Matilda.
The story does seem a tad jumbled at times, but it doesn’t hurt the film too much. The main reasons to see it are for the fascinating displays of Gilliam’s imagination in the scenes inside the mirror and for the performances from the four actors mentioned earlier. It’s quite remarkable that Gilliam was able to put together something this good after such a terrible tragedy that added to his streak of bad luck.
As far as its place in Gilliam’s filmography, it may not reach the brilliance of “Monty Python and Holy Grail,” but as I said, it’s a return to his fantasy days, the days where he would explore his boundless imagination, for that is where he does his best work.
3/4 stars.
Read this and other reviews in my column at The Richmond Examiner.