"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" (2009)

• Dir: Terry Gilliam
• Written by: Terry Gilliam & Charles McKeown
• Starring: Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Lily Cole, and Andrew Garfield

          I'm convinced that Terry Gilliam is the only modern director whose films actually belong to him, if that makes sense. His films all have a distinct visual style, and since he rarely works on big studio productions, his screenplays usually stay completely intact, his vision is never warped by studio execs or Hollywood fatcats. "Parnassus" is not only the first film he's done since "Baron Munchausen" that has been complete, unadulterated dark fantasy, but it also has a higher-budget compared to his previous films. It was produced for something like 30 to 40 million dollars, so it's astounding that the movie remained as intact as it did.
          "Parnassus" is about the trials and tribulations of the eponymous monk, Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer), who, after having made a deal with the Devil (Tom Waits), has lived for thousands of years. The stipulation? That his daughter, Valentina (Lily Cole) would be given to him once she reaches the age of 16. So, desperate to keep Valentina, he enters into another deal with the Devil. If Parnassus can save 5 souls through his "Imaginarium", a kind of portal into the viewer's own imagination, then he can keep his daughter.
          Around the same time, Parnassus and his crew find Tony (Heath Ledger), a young man with strange markings on his forehead, hanging from a bridge by his neck. They save him, and Tony sets about helping the Doctor and friends retool the Imaginarium, so as to draw more customers. The film subsequently focuses on the race for 5 souls, with Parnassus trying to convince them to come to the side of imagination and stories, and the Devil attempting to win them over with sin and temptation.
          Even with that plot synopsis taking two paragraphs to write out, the plot is still way more complex then that. You shouldn't jump into this film if you're not ready for an incredibly convoluted and messy storyline. There are so many factors to the plot that it gets incredibly hard to follow at times, and it's only now on my second viewing that I'm beginning to grasp everything. However, that's not necessarily bad. Despite the fact that the story is messier than a five year-old with a bag of flour, it's still incredibly interesting and fun to watch.
          I love the idea that Parnassus is some kind of wandering minstrel, a medicine man that's thousands of years old. All he wishes is for people to continue to tell stories and to savor imagination, but nobody will listen. I identify with and believe in that. The great thing about the film is that it doesn't treat this theme of imagination with sloppiness. It's subtly implemented and doesn't feel preachy, like Gilliam is screaming in our ears or something. And even though it has some important themes about imagination and stories in it, it never treats these themes with a stone face. The movie frequently plays for laughs and never takes itself too seriously, which is nice.
          As with all Terry Gilliam films, it's visuals are incredibly beautiful and imaginative. Sure, the CGI is painfully obvious, but that's the point, isn't it? It takes place inside people's imaginations, it's supposed to look glossy and animated and larger than life.
          His films always seem to take place in a world where anything can happen, and the fantastic could be right on your street. His stories are prime examples of magic realism; in films like "Time Bandits" and even in this film, surreal, supernatural events are juxtaposed with droll, suburban settings, which is perfect as it slowly draws us into this world of the fantastic. I love that in his films he treats the fantastic as if it has no rules, and the setting of the Imaginarium allows him to do that. The wondrous environments are always varied and interesting, all bets are off and anything can happen inside of it, and this plot aspect is utilized beautifully.
          The characters are also interesting as well. They are given just enough backstory and depth that we begin to care about them, but not so much that the mysteries behind them are ruined. Especially well-written is the character of Tony. We never know whose side he's on, we can't really figure out if he's doing things for his own gain or if he genuinely cares about Parnassus and crew. He isn't portrayed as a stereotypical hero and he certainly doesn't save anyone in the traditional sense, so it's great to see a main character that isn't quite so "black-and-white", morally speaking.
          In fact, that same rule goes for every character in the film. None of the characters are straight-up good or evil, they're just people, and like people, sometimes they make selfish mistakes. Even if the characters aren't as complex as the ones in Gilliam's "Brazil", it's nice to know that he can still create interesting, deep characters in lighter fare such as this.
          Since I'll probably get lambasted if I don't mention this, yes, this was Heath Ledger's last film and that's very sad, but let's take off our tragedy glasses for a moment and look at the film objectively. Thankfully, I'm happy to say that Ledger's performance is fantastic, and I only wish that he could have finished the rest of the film. The actors that play his "Imaginarium" selves are also very good, and they all look and sound like Heath Ledger, other than Colin "I'm Trying My Best to Sound Erudite and English" Farrell. I'm incredibly disappointed that Farrell was given the last, and most emotional part of the film, as I'm sure that the ending could have been much more powerful had they used one of the other replacement actors.
          The supporting cast do a great job as well. Andrew Garfield as Anton, Parnassus's right-hand boy, perfectly portrays the lost young boy that thinks he is quite more mature than he actually is  (plus, he's really funny), and Christopher Plummer is good as the Doctor himself. Tom Waits is worthy of attention as well as the prim and clean-cut Devil. As on his albums, his voice is smoky and smooth, and he plays a very pleasant, erudite Devil. Surprisingly though, one of the most unexpected acting achievements in the film is Lily Cole as Parnassus's daughter, Valentina.
          Who would have ever thought that a 21-year-old model would end up being a good actress? Her young babyface makes her an incredibly convincing 16-year-old and, like a 16-year-old, she has extremely bipolar moods, slipping from playful, to selfish, to angry at a moment's notice, and I found myself really caring for her by the film's end. Really, the only complaint I have here is Verne Troyer as Percy, Parnassus's right-hand dwarf (Gilliam really does seem to have a thing for short people).
          He was better when he was in Austin Powers, when he didn't have to do anything but stand there, but in this film he has dialogue, and somehow we're supposed to believe that he's English. His dialogue has all kinds of British slang and witticisms, but Troyer doesn't even try, he still speaks in an incredibly irritating American accent, and overexaggerates every single piece of dialogue in the film, like a high school student in a terrible play. Other than that, though, the cast is rounded out quite nicely.
          But, I do have some problems with the film, despite how much I love it. It takes almost an hour to really get going, and these beginning bits are really slow and tedious. Also, the writing (as briefly mentioned earlier) is very slapdash and feels cobbled together from a bunch of "bits" that they had to fill in exposition for (kind of like my reviews), and it's also very muddled and difficult to figure out what Gilliam was trying to do.
          Overall, even though the film has some pretty glaring faults, once it hits, man, it HITS. The film feels like a bunch of bits sewn together, but those "bits" are so great that I can't really complain about it. I can put on the film and just revel in the beautiful visuals and the amazing adventures inside of the Imaginarium. It's not his best film, but it's definitely a return to form for Gilliam, and rests nicely beside his other fantasies like "Baron Munchausen" and "Time Bandits". I'm so glad Gilliam has returned to dark fantasy, and I hope it's going to stay that way, at least for a little while.