The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
by Terry Gilliam
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Christopher Plummer, Colin Farrell, Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude LawDirector: Terry Gilliam
Brand: Sony
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.85:1
Running Time: 123 minutes
Published: 2010-04-01
DVD Release Date: 2010-04-27
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
Movie Reviews of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Movie Review: A heartfelt recommendation
Summary: 5 Stars
After waiting for it to come out on DVD, I just saw TIODP last night. Here are a couple of observations and insights that may be helpful.
(i) Visuals
I unfortunately watched this movie on a non-Blue Ray DVD player on a 26 inch T.V. Within minutes, I realized that I had really robbed myself not seeing this at the theater. The visuals were absolutely jaw-dropping and literally breath-taking; some of the richest, most imaginative imagery I have ever seen on film. I often have concerns that Hollywood technology has outpaced Hollywood creativity with the endless over-produced streams of Iron Man 2's and Prince of Persias being the fruit of this folly. This movie has restored my faith that there is new and creative stories to be told and interesting and important ideas to be imagined.
Terry Gilliam has always been in the forefront of visual style (Brazil, Time Bandits, 12 Monkeys), but has never really had the tools that are brought to bear in this outing. When I saw the effects-saturated previews, I was a little concerned that Gilliam may be starting down the trail blazed by Tim Burton, who long ago abandoned any artistic or storytelling pretense, replacing them with what pretty much amounts to a technology showcase (anyone see Alice in Wonderland?). So I was really worried about what would be lost in translating Gilliam's ideas onto a digital palette. I was pleasantly surprised that Gilliam has not gone down this road at all; his strange and interesting effects complement the mood and style of the movie, without consuming or overrunning them. Yes, there was visual panache and pizzazz, but the rest of the movie was not an excuse to get it on the screen.
As for the visuals themselves, they were absolute masterpieces. I am not sure if anyone could watch the imagination sequences and not think of Salvatore Dali or other surrealists; it really reminded me of Destino, Dali's aborted collaboration with Walt Disney (Yes, really. Look it up.) Yet beyond their sheer artistry, these sequences have a way of mixing the surrealist dreariness with satire and whimsy, signifying to me that no one was taking themselves too seriously.
(ii) Acting
The acting for most of the characters was good, but nothing to write home about. Heath Ledger's performance was ok, but far inferior to his masterful (and Oscar winning) turn as the Joker last year; he is just not as flamboyant and slick as the role demanded. Christopher Plummer was fine - really he didn't venture far beyond doing "hysterical old coot" for most of the movie. Colin Ferrell, Jude Law, and Lilly Cole were so-so, but really kind of mediocre talents to begin with. It was refreshing to see that Verne Troyer has evolved beyond Mini-Me, but he is still really used more as a set-piece than an independent character in this one.
However, I should point out two notable exceptions to the general rule. First, Tom Waits is just absolutely awesome as resident Satan figure, Mr. Nick. His silky voice and crystal cool demeanor was just entrancing; every time he came on the screen was a singular pleasure - true, it was a creepy, skin-crawling, punch to the gut, check-if-your-soul-is-still-there kind of pleasure, but still. (As a short sidenote, anyone who doesn't know Waits' music needs to stop reading this review and go order Rain Dogs right now... We'll wait). Second, Johnny Depp's short turn as Mr. Ledger's Imaginarium's alter-ego is a precision mix of carnival barker and slippery gigolo; I was sorry that there was so little of him in the movie.
(iii) Story
Ok, if there is one particular that I could get caught up on not being the best, it would probably be the story. It seems that they started with a really neat idea - Doctor Parnasus can facilitate one stepping into his imagination. He has a second-rate traveling show pedaling the experience to a disinterested and cynical populous. On the side, he has made a deal with the devil, wagering his only child against a bet to be the first to claim five souls through his Imaginarium against Mr. Nick's competing visions. That is the seed of a really neat idea, but the actual mechanics of the thing really don't live up to the promise. There is a lot of dialogue filler and an extraneous character or two that really didn't push things forward and meandered into subplots which really didn't add to the story much. Also, part of the mystery that Gilliam weaves requires not showing all the cards in his hand at once (or at all for that matter). This makes the plot interesting and adds to the atmosphere, but also makes the story kind of incomprehensible at some points. You have to fill in a lot of narrative gaps and, as a result, viewers will not walk away with the same understanding of the story or even its resolution. I was a little put off by this, but then again if I hated narrative or moral ambiguity, Tom Clancy also has a number of selections available.
Final note (and SPOILER ALERT), doesn't being hanged generally kill one by cutting off blood to one's carotid artery, not by suffocation, making a metal tube down your trachea really kind of irrelevant? Is it just me?
(iv) Conclusion
Five Stars and no regrets.
Unlike some of the other reviewers, I will not pat myself on the back for having discovered some kind of high art, unappreciated by the bourgeoisies masses. It is quirky and different and I think you have to have an appreciation of movies beyond the mega-plex to really get into it (I mean, er... the other mega-plexes which didn't show this movie), but wouldn't consider it art house cinema. I enjoyed it a lot and thought that the visual style alone commands a strong recommendation.
Summary of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Blessed with the extraordinary gift of guiding the imaginations of others, Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) is cursed with a dark secret. An inveterate gambler, thousands of years ago he made a bet with the devil, Mr. Nick (Tom Waits), in which he won immortality. Centuries later, on meeting his one true love, Dr. Parnassus made another deal with the devil, trading his immortality for youth, on condition that when his daughter reached her 16th birthday, she would become the property of Mr Nick. Valentina (Lily Cole) is now rapidly approaching this ?coming of age? milestone and Dr. Parnassus is desperate to protect her from her impending fate. Mr. Nick arrives to collect but, always keen to make a bet, renegotiates the wager. Now the winner of Valentina will be determined by whoever seduces the first five souls. Enlisting a series of wild, comical and compelling characters in his journey, Dr. Parnassus promises his daughter?s hand in marriage to the man that helps him win. In this captivating, explosive and wonderfully imaginative race against time, Dr. Parnassus must fight to save his daughter in a never-ending landscape of surreal obstacles ? and undo the mistakes of his past once and for all! Also starring Heath Ledger, Andrew Garfield, Verne Troyer, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law.Terry Gilliam has long admired Marcel Carné's beautiful and tragic Children of Paradise (he even contributes an introduction to the Criterion Collection edition). In The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, among his more phantasmagorical features, Gilliam conjures up his own unique theatrical troupe. Led by the immortal Parnassus (Christopher Plummer, whose daughter, Amanda, appeared in The Fisher King), Anton (Boy A's Andrew Garfield), Percy (Verne Troyer), and the doctor's doll-faced daughter, Valentina (model Lily Cole), travel through 21st-century London in their stagecoach set. Times are tight and the quartet is starting to unravel when they rescue Tony, a philanthropist (Heath Ledger, reuniting with Gilliam for the last time), from the Russian mob. Though Anton pines for Valentina, she falls for the new fellow, who charms female viewers into opening up their wallets. Little do the ladies realize they risk their souls when they pass through the Imaginarium, a Mylar mirror that leads to alternate realities (where Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell play Tony's doppelgängers). As it transpires, Parnassus made a Faustian bargain with Mr. Nick (Tom Waits, whom Gilliam considers "America's greatest musical poet") centuries before and must supply Satan with five souls by Valentina's 16th birthday or Nick will take her away from him--permanently. One of the movie's more haunting lines, "Nothing is forever, not even death," could serve as an epitaph for Ledger, who died from an accidental overdose during filming, but lives again in the erratic, yet imaginative Gilliam's most purely enjoyable film since Time Bandits. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Stills from The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Click for larger image)
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