THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS
It’s a Terry Gilliam film and for those who don’t know what I’m talking about remember Brazil, Twelve Monkeys, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, and very fondly from long, long ago Monty Python’s Flying Circus and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. So if you know anything about the above, you know to expect an odd, almost stream of consciousness visual pastiche, with a narrative that’s just along for the ride.
This time we have a character called Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) who has been traveling through time in various modes of transport, but when we meet him it’s a giant horse drawn wagon that becomes a stage. Accompanying him on this journey and comprising his theatrical troupe are his daughter Valentina (Lily Cole), an orphaned stagehand/barker Anton (Andrew Garfield) and a very tiny but strong sidekick/partner/driver named Percy (Verne Troyer.) Dr. Parnassus’ show requires audience participation: people are solicited outside of bars or later in malls to walk through a mirror on the stage. The Doctor then somehow facilitates their journey into their own sub-conscious. These mind travels allow Gilliam to throw his characters into an array of surrealist visual landscapes. It all has something to do with a battle for souls between Dr. Parnassus and Mr. Nick, aka Satan or some kind force of evil (Tom Waits.) But Parnasuss likes the game and has made some bets with Mr. Nick that he must, regretfully pay off.
The elephant in the film has to do with the unexpected death of Heath Ledger before shooting had ended. Gilliam was forced to come up with a now much publicized “surprise” solution with the help of Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law. Ledger plays Tony, a sort of dishonest, playboy rescued from near death by the troupe, who then joins them on their strange adventures. Tony helps in several ways but he’s very clearly not at all who we seems, and the solution that Gilliam came up with works to support this notion.
As for the film as a whole, it’s one of the most enjoyable from Gilliam. Since I was and still am a fan of surrealism and the dark humor thereunder, I have liked his films yet I often find them exhausting to the extreme: zooming off in multiple directions all at once, amidst a cacaphony of sights and sounds. This one is relatively contained and restrained, perhaps due to the particularly tragic circumstances of the production. You’ll have no idea where you’re going, so just strap on your seatbelt, throw out all expectations having to do with conventional storytelling or even linear narrative, sit back and experience it.
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus opens December 25, 2009.
Directed by Terry Gilliam; written by Terry Gilliam and Charles McKeown; produced by William Vince, Amy Gilliam, Samuel Hadida and Terry Gilliam; Director of Photography, Nicola Pecorini; edited by Mick Audsley; music by Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna. Released by Sony Pictures Classics. Running time: 122 minutes.
With: Heath Ledger (Tony); Christopher Plummer (Dr. Parnassus) ; Lily Cole(Valentina); Andrew Garfield (Anton); Verne Troyer(Percy); Tom Waits (Mr. Nick); Johny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law.
