"The Imaginarium of Dr.Parnassus"
Starring: Christopher Plummer, Heath Ledger, Verne Troyer, Tom Waits, Colin Farrell, Jude Law, Johhny Depp, Lily Cole, Andrew Garfield
Grade: C+
Terry Gilliam's Dr. Parnassus isn't as weird as it should be. Rather, it's maddening in the ways that it manages to be dull and un-involving. It meanders at it's own pace until it flares up for a few minutes, only to bring you back to it's rather un-interesting level of mediocrity.
The film follows a traveling circus group who perform in the streets of modern day London. The outfit consists of the old and weathered Dr.Parnassus, played by Christopher Plummer. His daughter Valentina, played by Lily Cole. A young man named Anton, around the same age or older than Valentina played by Andrew Garfield, and the midget oddity Percy, played by Verne Troyer. The outfit is struggling for money and meaning until they happen upon a suicidal drifter named Tony played by the late Heath Ledger.
Most will remember The Dark Knight as Ledger's final curtain call, but Parnassus was truly his last role. He's as charismatic and oddly charming in this film as one would expect, though his role isn't fully fledged for it to stand out on his short but accomplished resume. Ledger is what makes the film watchable, when Parnassus' outfit finds him, he's hanging over a lake. He becomes apart of there group, and brings new wrinkles and a fresh presentation to attract customers.
The film plays out on it's own terms, as all films should. With Parnassus, there is no destination, no significance, or even the hint of excitement. It has small moments, but with all of the intrigue seen in the trailer, and with the help of a talented cast, Gilliam's film amounts to very little. Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell all make appearances, they filled in for Ledger after his death. Farrell is given the most to do, but each of the three are just footnotes to the picture.
There is the character of the devil, played by Tom Waits. His duel or "game" with Parnassus is the basis for the film. It's a twisted morality play, played out in modern London. As soon as humans enter the mirror in Parnassus' sideshow, there imagination is played out, or controlled, and they must choose between The Devil's temptation or to be spit back out of the Imaginarium. It's all very interesting, wink wink. While I didn't despise the film, one must wonder where the script and direction went wrong? Gilliam's visual's are mildly inspired, but they aren't as fun or intriguing as they should be.
The film wraps up nice and neat, and while I'm not even sure how everything happened, I didn't really care to know. Parnassus isn't dangerous enough, weird enough, or strange enough to make it's audience feel entranced by its surreal elements. When you're dealing with a film like this, it would have been wise for Gilliam to go all out, instead, the director teeters on fairy tale and mild danger, and the film suffers for it.
