The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - 2009

One of these days I'm gonna have to watch and review something I don't already know I'm going to love. This film wasn't it!

I've been looking forward to this movie hitting DVD since I saw the release trailers. I'm a Python fan, and by extension all of Terry Gilliam's movies. Gilliam himself stated this movie was something of a compendium for him of his own work, so if you are looking for a departure from his brand of imagery and fantasy, this isn't it either. In fact, I can see it being said that it's a bit redundant in that respect and on a basic level it is. Python fans will nonetheless rejoice.

I've heard it said that Gilliam's past movies have been about phases of life; 'Time Bandits' was childhood, 'Brazil' was adulthood, and 'Adventures of Baron Munchausen' was old age. This would indeed be Gillium in compendium. You'll also find plenty of standard Python imagery, much of it wonderfully wrought in CG; from British bobbies in drag to surreal balloon heads floating through CG scenery.

Getting past this, there are a number of things that make this movie special. This is the first film since 'Munchausen (1988)'where Gillium storyboarded the entire movie himself, explaining his ownership of the movie's visual style. It's also from an original story he co-wrote, with no basis on existing screenplay or text.

Arguably the most unique feature of this movie is that it was Heath Ledger's last picture. The production and everyone involved with it were affected by his loss. This influenced the film in many ways, including an alteration to the story line to allow 3 different actors to complete his part; this actually becomes a plot device in the film. It was heartwarming to learn that the three actors donated all their pay for this movie to insure the financial future of Ledger's daughter.

This substitution was an artful idea; unfortunately it's execution exposes the biggest flaw in the film. Perhaps it's the number of these elements that clouds the idea, but several of the plot devices receive no explanation or follow through at all. Indeed at times the actors themselves appear as befuddled by some of them as the viewer will likely be. This lends a rambling incoherence to the story that doesn't really get linked in any way to anything. Ultimately the film is about the power of imagination; so it could be said that this incoherence is an inherent quality of imagination. It's just a bit overdone.

Still, nearly everything about the film is a delight. It's wonderfully cast, and I felt one of the most engaging parts was played by Tom Waits. As Ole' Scratch, he is a classic master of trickery but with his own gambling vice. This eventually is the undoing of his scheme with Parnassus, but it's hard to tell if this wasn't part of his grander scheme, I'll leave it to you to decide what that might be.

Surprisingly, I didn't find that Heath Ledger had the most interesting character. We'll all be left to wonder whether that might be different if he had been able to complete the role.