Heath Ledger died halfway through the filming of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, but to director Terry Gilliam’s credit, you’d never know anything was amiss from the final product.
While it can criticized for problems with story or pacing or tone (as can – let’s face it – most of the director’s oeuvre), Parnassus is an undeniable return to form for Gilliam, a fantastically imaginative piece of work that stands in direct opposition his previous picture, the painfully indulgent Tideland.
Ledger stars as Tony, who is discovered hanging from a London bridge by a travelling caravan of performers in a show, which includes Anton (Andrew Garfield), Percy (Verne Troyer), Valentina (Lily Cole), and Valentina’s father, Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer).
They save him from his fate (a flute lodged in his throat also helps), and a convenient case of amnesia keeps him from answering any questions. Parnassus can’t be bothered with Tony at first, but soon comes to believe he was sent to save them. Sent by who? Save them from what?
The plot of Doctor Parnassus is a thick molasses of wayward tangents that always seem to leave us in mid-thought: there are at least a few too many ideas going on here. At worst, the plot here is a needless distraction; at best, it keeps Gilliam in check. But let me backtrack.
The Doctor Parnassus show is a corny theatrical affair that parks itself outside of a nightclub, appeals to some drunks with its bright colors, and promises them extraordinary delights if they come inside the Imaginarium, represented by a fake mirror.
Once inside, they enter Parnassus’ mind, or maybe Parnassus enters their mind, and they can choose enlightenment or some cheap thrills. The drunks, of course, go for the cheap thrills. “Lost another one,” sighs Parnassus. You see, the Doctor is a centuries-old monk who once made a deal with the Devil for his immortality, and is now in the midst of another deal with the devil to see who can win the most souls.
You see, the devil – Mr. Nick (played, quite wonderfully, by Tom Waits) – is a gamblin’ man. What are they gambling over? Something to do with his daughter And that’s about where Tony comes in.
Ledger, apparently, only shot the real-world, London-set scenes, so when Tony enters the Imaginarium he’s portrayed by a trio of different actors: Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell.
Each carries off the character transition seamlessly, though Depp has considerably less to do than the others. Ultimately, Tony is a rather supporting role in this tale, and I’m not so sure the attention paid to his character pays off all that well by the end.
Conversely, the heart of the film – the stuff between Parnassus and Mr. Nick, and between Parnassus and Valentina – works wonderfully, and Plummer and Waits are both excellent, Lily Cole enchanting.
I’m not convinced Doctor Parnassus works a whole, but some of its scenes are pure magic. Minor complaint: some heavy reliance on CGI in the Imaginarium scenes, which is never really bad, but less artful than what more conventional animation could have produced.
