Episode 16.5 - The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Review 10/10

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - 2009 - Terry Gilliam

So I complained a few days ago when I reviewed Punch Drunk Love about Indie movies that try to throw in a few little artsy scenes just for the sake of validating their claim as the “cliché Indie film.” Some films get it right, some get it wrong. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus got it right taking the “Alice in Wonderland meets Neil Gaiman” psycho-whack-job-approach to an expertly crafted and truly mesmerizing story  that got me to finally say since starting this blog “Now that was an experience!”

Now, I know going into this review, Terry Gilliam is a hit or miss with a lot of people, even his movies are hit or miss with people who love him, like I loved 12 Monkeys but hated The Fisher King with the passion of a thousand suns. So despite the fact that I am going to rave about this film, that doesn’t mean it’s going to sit well with everyone, but no matter what you say about the story, I think everyone will agree this film is visually enchanting.

We follow the story of Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) who, a thousand years ago, made a bet with the devil, who the story calls Mr. Nick (played wonderfully by Tom Waits), about whether or not the power of long-lasting enlightenment was more appealing than instant gratification. By winning the bet, he won immortality and has since spent the last millennium travelling with a road show, giving people the opportunity to experience the world of their imaginations and make the choice between what benefits them now vs. what benefits them later using a magic mirror that leads the mystical Imaginarium.

In their travels, they meet Tony (Heath Ledger), a disgraced philanthropist who claims amnesia and uses the troupe to flee from his past and makes an impression by turning the struggling show into a growing success by implementing some very creative modern twists. Ledger died a third of the way through making this film so his scenes in the Imaginarium were recast with a very clever story mechanic; creating a “dream guy” of the person entering the world by Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law.  

Caught in another game between the devil and Parnassus over custody of Parnassus’s daughter Valentina (the STUNNING Lily Cole. I want to go to there.), Tony’s past begins to catch up with him, forcing him to fight his own imagination in order to save himself and the lovely Valentina.

The Imaginarium is a masterpiece, with the fantastical magnetism of Neil Gaiman with just enough of that good ol’ Monty Python Gilliam animation that we all know and love, but without the darkness that tends to mask the beautiful detail in the scenery. It feels like it could be inside your head…if you were on opioids constantly. It’s fun to watch Gilliam’s own Wonderland form around each character, the random outbursts and events that lead people to their final choice catch you by gleeful surprise, like an infant opening a pop-up book for the first time. It just sucks you in and makes you wonder what will happen next and still gives you confidence that whatever it is…it’s going to look sparkly.

I also really appreciated Mr. Nick’s role (the devil, effectively). Unlike most stories where the devil is an agent of trickery and deceit out solely for his own gain, here he takes on an almost inquisitive role. He seems just as curious and seems to have just as much fun discovering the true desires of people as Parnassus, and because of that, the two have an almost friendly understanding. I didn’t see him so much as a villain than another competitor in the game of the Imaginarium. It was a fresh change and I respect it.

With a strong supporting cast in the traveling troupe of Valentina (I still really want to go to there), Anton (Andrew Garfield), and Percy (Verne Troyer), The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is filled with fun, vibrant characters with their own charms that mesh together beautifully in this mad, mad, mad, mad world they live in. They operate like a family and you fall in love with their sometimes dysfunctional personalities because, damn it, rationale just has no place here.

If I had to complain about anything, it’s that it was a little slow getting off the ground, but it had a lot of stage to set up and really, the only reason I was impatient was because I got a small taste of the Imaginarium at the beginning of the film…and really just wanted more of it; it was that damn captivating.

The Imaginarium was a thrilling experience that had just enough of everything blended so well in a world so stunning that I hate I didn’t get to see this in the theatre, although part of me fears what would Gilliam’s next film because he’s a director that would take 3D to a whole new level…and I still haven’t warmed up to it yet. The story was smart and original, the performances had just that “mysterious and cooky” way about them where nobody felt out of place, and visually it was amazing and I almost want to go and watch it again.

I honestly tried here, I really tried to think of something that was so bad or even annoying that it could knock it down…but this just worked for me. With the first 10 out of 10 in The BackLOG, I hope that The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus takes you on the same journey that it took me.