The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Partially a farewell on film to Heath Ledger and partially a satire on the modern age and the phasing out of imagination. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus will no doubt confuse many audience members as it requires one to read between the lines to pull forth a moral to the story. Director Terry Gilliam brilliantly contrasts the old world traveling show of Dr. Parnassus and company with a world of cellular phones, video games and automobiles. Now granted I write this review after a single viewing when a movie like this will take multiple doses in order to digest the full message going on behind the scenes. Certain things were missed with the characters and their relationships and I am sure there were things in the background to clue me in that flew right by me as it all was new in my experience.
The film itself on first glance, seemed like a patchwork – now I may be saying this as I am prejudiced based on knowledge that Heath’s death spawned on his friends (Depp, Farrell and Law) to finish it. I want to think that wasn’t what makes me feel this way and it was the crazy story, or stories that were woven together that makes me say this. The fantastic tale of an old man, his magical mirror, the devil and a beautiful 16 yr old was a lot to take in. But upon leaving the theater and reminiscing on what I saw, it dawned on me that the point of the movie was that of the modern world, our vices and our unwillingness to listen. This will of course scare away the conspiracy theorists who will attack it as anti-establishment etc. but still, this is what The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is.
To sum up the world within the mirror – I would say that the Imaginarium was like a child’s pop-up book come alive. Giant ladders, huge obsidian pyramids and floating jellyfish are only the tip of the iceberg as men are offered riches, women giant slippers and children living videogames to experience within it. When Tony (normally played by Heath Ledger) enters this world his looks change to that of Johnny Depp, Jude Law or Colin Farrell depending on the situation. Outside of the world Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer), is father to the beautiful Valentina (Lily Cole) a woman who looked to me like a living cartoon – in a very good way. His band included Percy (Verne Troyer) and the loyal Anton (Andrew Garfield).
The character Percy was an oddity at best for me and I was very confused with him. Verne Troyer’s delivery of the clever quips seemed ill-timed and scarcely funny and the director pulled no punches in conveying old stereotypical jokes at the little man’s expense. Verne dons a little Satan outfit, blackface (yup) and even a monkey suit to whore himself out for coin to help his master. Since I find neither little people nor blackface to be the funniest jokes to laugh at, this little distraction was a pain to watch. This exploitation drove home the old school feel of the Parnassus Troupe even beyond the feelings of disgust I had at the entire spectacle. Yup Percy was the genuine article, a kickback to a time where things may have been simple but they were also off in the politically correct arena, and I appreciated the reminder than not all things old were necessarily good.
Aside from Percy, the character who really steals the show is that of Mr. Nick (Tom Waits) a naughty, naughty devil of a man who toys with Parnassus cruelly the entire movie. The Nick devil is a sly, trickster who loves to play despite his top hat and tuxedo making him seem the sophisticate. He commands your attention whenever he is on camera and besides Ledger I will say that he was really the star of the movie.
You will either hate this movie or be patient with it to eventually love it. That’s about as blunt as I can get about it. No doubt the loyalty and nostalgia for the Ledger of The Dark Knight fame will make a lot of people want to see this but I am doubting very much that many will truly understand the intent behind the bizarre story.
STAR RATING: (6/10) ★★★★★★★★★★
Filed under Adventure, Fantasy, Mystery · Tagged with Children, colin farrell, heath ledger, johnny depp, lily cole, terry gilliam
