Film of the week: The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus (12A)

Damon Smith • Published 26 Oct 2009 09:00 0 Comments

"A FILM From Heath Ledger & Friends," sombrely proclaim the end credits of Terry Gilliam's fantasy.

There is no escaping the uncomfortable truth that audiences will flock to The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus to witness the final performance of Oscar-winning actor Ledger before his accidental drug overdose.

Gilliam's picture was part-way through principal photography when the world lost one of its brightest talents.

The director, whose films have been bedevilled by bad luck throughout the years, took the decision to rework the script, casting three actors (Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell) as stand-ins for the absent star in three dreamlike sequences.

The result is a film that is every bit disjointed and befuddling as it is visually arresting and fanciful.

This is a disappointing final tribute to Ledger, and far from one of his best performances. He looks uncomfortable in his own skin and consequently we feel equally unsettled.

Hopefully audiences will remember him as tortured cowboy Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain or the mentally unhinged Joker in The Dark Knight, which won him a posthumous Oscar as Best Supporting Actor earlier this year.

Immortal soothsayer Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) bargained with The Devil (Tom Waits) many centuries ago, and now Old Nick has come to collect the soul of his teenage daughter Valentina (Lily Cole), who works in a travelling circus fronted by Parnassus and his assistants Anton (Andrew Garfield) and Percy (Verne Troyer).

To keep The Devil at bay, Parnassus must win the souls of five strangers by inviting them through his magic mirror, into a world beyond their wildest imagination.

Suicidal Tony (Ledger et al) could be the first through the looking-glass but where will the soothsayer find the others?

With thoughts of Ledger lingering uneasily in the mind, The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus is a strangely voyeuristic experience that starts with a chill when we see his character hanging from a noose beneath Blackfriars Bridge in London.

"Where are we?" asks Tony as he regains consciousness. "Geographically, in the Northern Hemisphere; socially, on the margins; narratively, with some way to go," replies Percy, tipping us off to the film's uncomfortable running time.

In truth, Ledger is a supporting player in this haphazard tale.

Plummer, Garfield and Cole are centre stage, the latter impressing as a child doomed to suffer the sins of her father.

Depp and Law barely have any screen time. Farrell fares slightly better and captures the mannerisms and vocal patterns of Ledger to provide a clear link.

Animated sequences and production design are top-notch, but the two-hour running time tests our patience.

We want so much to be lost in Gilliam's waking dream, but the tragic nightmare behind every frame haunts us.

Tweet

This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 22 Oct 09

Post a comment

Your Comment:

Registered users log in here

Username or email

Password

If you are registered with us, you can login here. If you are not registered, do so now.
Once logged in you wont have to complete word verification each time you post.

Prefer not to register?

Screen Name *required

Email (not displayed) *required

Usernames must be 4 - 20 characters. Registration only takes a few minutes. Registered users can also take part in competitions and other features of the site.

Word Verification:
Enter the text as shown.

Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our The Guide archives.

Follow @rdgchronicle