Director: Terry Gilliam
Starring: Christopher Plummer, Heath Ledger & Lily Cole
Heath Ledger’s final film finally sees release after attempts by Terry Gilliam to salvage the film following Ledger’s death. The result is a film that starts well and is full of potential but suffers in later scenes making it another flawed, near-masterpiece in Gilliam’s filmography.
Many of Terry Gilliam’s films have become as famous for the stories of the struggles to get them made as they are for the films themselves. Whether it be arguments with studios over final cuts like with Brazil or total collapses in a film’s production due to finances and mother nature such as with Gilliam’s ill-fated adaptation of Don Quixote which has been immortalised in the documentary Lost in La Mancha. Gilliam’s latest film is also him most famous production nightmare to date when it’s star, Heath Ledger, died during production leaving a third of his role unfilmed and the future of the project in doubt. With the aid of several actor friends, Gilliam managed to salvage the project and the result is The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus that has now been released. The result is a film that shows much promise but suffers too much by the loss of Ledger.
A former monk, now immortal, Doctor Parnassus (Plummer) travels the world with his travelling sideshow act, the Imaginarium, a show that allows patrons to experience a land created from their own imaginations. Having dealt with the Devil (Tom Waits) many times in the past including winning his own immortality, Parnassus is now trying desperately to win a wager that would see him lose his daughter Valentina (Cole) to the Devil when she turns 16 years of age which will occur only a few days hence. When all seems lost, hope turns up with the arrival of a stranger found hanging from a bridge named Tony (Ledger). This stranger may not be as innocent as he seems however and his nature and involvement with Parnassus and his Imaginarium may help Parnassus or doom his daughter.
The subject of much speculation as to whether the final film could survive the death of one of its leading actors, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus does feel like a film of two, quite different, halves. The first half is the most enjoyable, focusing mostly upon Parnassus and his troupe than on Ledger’s stranger, Tony, whom they encounter hanging from a bridge (an image that has added power given the death of Ledger). Building up the characters and the story with glimpses of Gilliam’s imagination which is presented in his usual dirty, gritty style, there is quite a lot to like even though the characters are prone to hysterical behaviour and occasionally cartoonish caricatures much like the characters in many Gilliam films. The development of Cole’s Valentina and of the stranger Tony are usually interesting, particularly Tony who is, at first, amnesiac but soon reveals an inner con artist and gift for charm and deception that keeps the audience guessing over whether he will doom Parnassus or redeem himself somehow, saving the day. However, the latter half of the film begins to lose focus which may, or may not, be due to the death of Ledger by this point. Recasting the role of Tony for the Imaginarium sequences (worlds of imagination within a magic mirror controlled by Parnassus) is a mixed affair and ultimately each actor, whether it be Depp, Law or Farrell, compare less favourably in their portrayals of Tony to Ledger’s with some moments, especially the character’s ultimate fate in the finale, falling flat because it isn’t Ledger in the role. The Imaginarium sequences too feel overly OTT and unfocused even for Gilliam being at sometimes impressive and at others far too random and surreal and suffering at times in their representation thanks to Gilliam’s relative inexperience with using CGI. With several notable changes in some scenes to explain Ledger’s disappearance the film feels too rushed towards the end which could be down to Gilliam’s sometimes weakness with ending a story as satisfactorily as he sets it up but likely affected by time constraints in completing the picture after Ledger’s death.
The performances in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus will likely be compared to Ledger’s given this was his last role. Ledger does deliver an interesting performance as he slowly grows comfortable with the character as the film progresses, though his attempts at delivering an accent are often muddled. The performances of Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell who filled in for Ledger in later scenes are less interesting with neither getting enough time to really grasp the character and doing their best impersonations of Ledger’s performance. It is Christopher Plummer and Lily Cole that deliver the stronger performances of the film as Parnassus and his daughter respectively. Plummer plays Parnassus with believable weariness while Cole impresses as the freedom seeking and self-sufficient Valentina who is still naïve when it comes to love.
Overall, starting quite well with good performances from Plummer and Cole and a fun and interesting performance from Ledger, the film does suffer and unravel in the second half with the scenes filmed after Ledger’s death as neither Depp, Law or Farrell really impress and the film struggles to hold itself together. Gilliam’s usual flair for impressive fantasy sequences also suffers in later scenes when he becomes reliant upon CGI too meaning The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is interesting though not loveable and will remain another curiosity in Gilliam’s filmography.
Rating: 3/5
