The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus: MSN Review

Credited as “A Film From Heath Ledger And Friends”,Doctor Parnassus is much more than just a vehicle for Ledger’s last ever screen appearance: it’s an ambitious, ramshackle hymn to imagination, the magic of cinema and Gilliam’s own tenaciousness. None of which make it a great film – maybe not even a good one – but it may be the filmmaker’s most personal movie and certainly one of his most inventive.

 

Thanks to a magical walk-through mirror strapped to his rickety horse-drawn show (hello, metaphors), 1,000-year-old magician Dr Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) has the power to send reluctant punters into a world of their imaginations. But if he can’t persuade five souls to lose themselves in the mirror-world before his daughter’s (model Lily Cole) 16th birthday, devilish Mr Nick (Tom Waits, cutting the ham thick) will take hers. Cue Ledger’s amnesiac stranger – revived from his hanging under a London bridge – to give Parnassus’/Gilliam’s show the charismatic frontman it craves.

 

Now don’t expect Joker-style fireworks from Ledger’s final performance. He’s full of effortless playful presence, but Brazil screenwriter Charles McKeown’s script gives him nothing meaty to chew on. Ironically, Gilliam’s movie takes flight when we leave Ledger behind to plunge through the looking-glass, into Gilliam’s fantasy dreamscapes and his most brilliant coup. 

 

For Terry Gilliam and Heath Ledger, the show must go on. Imaginative, chaotic, flawed fantasy that’s never as memorable as the talents it showcases.

 

Search For Cinema Listings With Bing

Compare DVD Prices with Ciao!