The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.

The latest film from director Terry Gilliam is one of those films you walk out of and have to think about.

Gilliam is a director who has had many problems over his long film career on trying to get his particular visions onto the screen. Before Parnassus, Gilliam's biggest hurtle was his version of Don Quixote, which never got finished (and was amazingly documented in the film "Lost in La Mancha"). But it was with Parnassus that Gilliam faced perhaps his biggest hurtle, the death of actor Heath Ledger. In the August 2009 issue of Vanity Fair, an article entitled "Heath Ledger's Final Days" discusses just that, but it also goes into great detail about Parnassus and Gilliam's struggle with finishing the film. Gilliam states that with Ledger he felt he found his actor, how Tim Burton has Johnny Depp, Gilliam had found Ledger. You feel that Gilliam felt he not just found an actor or kindred spirit in film making, but also a friend. With Ledger's death Gilliam believed that "Parnassus" was finished. As far as Gilliam was concerned, there was no more movie. It was his daughter, and producer of the film, Amy Gilliam that pushed her father to re-write the script and finish the movie. "Do it for Heath" was the phrase often thrown out. Gilliam was able to recruit actors Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrel to finish the film. During filming, Gilliam was hit by a bus, and his back was broken, with that, he kept filming. Gilliam is a director that keeps filming, and this is his latest endevour. What we get is an film that is purely Gilliam, a film with pure creativity, an interesting story, and the last performance of a wonderful actor.

The Plot: (Spoiler Free): A traveling show in a rickety old shack arrive into Modern Day London. They bring out the story of Dr. Parnassus (Christoper Plummer), who places people into his mystical mirror. And they must make a choice in the mirror. We learn that Parnassus is an immortal, having made a deal with the Devil (Tom Waits). But once Parnassus was to have a child, she would belong to the devil at the age of 16. His daughter is a few days away from that birthday. While on the road they come across a stranger named Tony (Ledger) who is hiding something. A deal is made, that the devil will leave the girl (Lily Cole) with the Doctor, if Parnassus can get five souls before the devil. It's when Tony enters the mirror with the individual souls that we see the world of Dr. Parnassus and the Devil. And there Tony meets different sides of his personality (Depp, Law, Farell). Who wins? Who Loses? And who really is Tony?

Review: First things first, Ledger is good, even boarding on great. And he actually is in the film for a fair amount of time. I'd say he's in at least half the film, if not more, so anyone thinking you're just going to get 15 minutes, that's not the case. I liked this movie. It feels like old school Gilliam, I'd put it next to Time Bandits or Baron Munchausen. There's alot of imagination and a fantasy feel to the film. I think Gilliam should be commended for finishing the film. And I think it's important to note that this wasn't a big studio film, this was, by all accounts, a European financed independent film. Don't let the big names fool you, this is not a tent-pole film. I say that if only because I do think that should be noted. If a major actor died in a hugely financed studio film half way through filming, it is more likely they'd do re-shoots, because they have the money to do so. Gilliam didn't have that option. So if the film feels a bit dis-jointed, that may be why, but that's up to your own opinion. Gilliam's films tend to be more about the visuals, the characters and the interesting set ups. The stories are imaginative, but they can often have not much there other then what you see. Which to me is fine. If you're looking for a deep character drama, this is not the film for you. But enough "Pre-review", lets get to the dirt.

The Good: The performances are from good to great, I don't think anyone was bad. Even first time actress Cole does a fine job, she won't win any awards, but she does what she's supposed to. But this movie hangs on the shoulders of Christoper Plummer. Plummer is the lead, this is his movie, and he does a great job. If you are even a remote fan of Plummer, you should enjoy this film. You get to watch a great actor in his element. Ledger is good, and the three actors that come in to take over the part of Tony do a great job of playing off of what Ledger brings, Farrel being the best of the three. Tom Waits as Mr. Nick is great, you can tell he's having a lot of fun in this role, and you can't help but wish he was in the film more. The set pieces that aren't in CG are great, and very Gilliam. The world of models and real set pieces are brought into this film and give everything a real sense of life and adds reality to the out there situations. There is also a musical set piece in the middle of the film that is very Monty Python-esq, to me, that was worth the price of admission.

The Meh: (There was nothing I hated in this movie, but some stuff was meh): The Score, not a great score, in fact a little to sparse. Certain moments in the script weren't clear or character reactions, not bad, but a little confusing. For me, that was about it.

The overall review I've heard from my friends who have seen the film is "I liked this movie alot...I don't know why yet, but I liked it." Which seems to fit with many Gilliam films. Gilliam brings so much to his movies, and his films are so creative, but they are hard to pin point. I'd say this film is very much worth the price of admission. You get some great performances, a lot of creativity, and you're seeing a film making artist doing some great art. If you're a fan of Ledger, a fan of Gilliam, a fan of Plummer, or a fan of fantasy. You should go see "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus"

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