Review: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Justin’s “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Review
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is what we have come to expect from Gilliam in terms of absurdity and plenty of subtext to chew on and mull over. When you have such classics as Brazil, Time Bandits, and The Monty Python films, you learn to expect much more. This has always been a hard task for a director to accomplish; being able to consistently bring the highest quality to the screen is not the easiest thing to do. Doctor Parnassus looked to be more of the same from Gilliam, but it turns out it might have been a little too much. Doctor Parnassus is a moral tale that follows a traveling theatre consisting of Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer), Anton (Andrew Garfield), Valentina (Lily Cole), and Percy (Verne Troyer). Doctor Parnassus is in possession of a magical mirror that gives the audience the opportunity to walk into another world. Parnassus, who operates the mirror using his mind (he seems to slip into a trance while the outsiders walk inside), makes a deal with the Devil (who is played by Tom Waits) to save his daughter’s (Valentina) life. The Devil is attempting to steal away Valentina unless Parnassus can somehow obtain five souls before the Devil is able to. Which, ultimately, coins the phrase that is echoed throughout the film,”….first to five…”.
The film opens with a large carriage rolling up ominously in the dead of night. A compartment opens up, revealing a stage where Anton enters wearing the attire of Hermes, the messenger of the gods. A group of drunken people begin causing a raucous that interrupts the performance. One member of the group runs onto the stage and chases Valentina into the magical mirror. He stumbles into a dark forested area and, in a drunken rage, follows Valentina and falls into a pit filled with beer bottles. The fantastical world of Gilliam is shown in full force here. The man is then warped into space, then to an open desert, where he will be forced to make a moral choice between indulging in humanistic luxuries, and a higher state of being. The Devil is there to tempt him into indulgence. Here we are given a clear sense of what the film is going to be about; a near-perfect opening. Unfortunately, while the opening is a nice set up for later scenes, the film suffers from a lack of any clear, discernible character development or even plot, however unimportant plot tends to be. Throughout the film, the characters are given definite goals. However, the problem lies not in the goals, but the lack of dimension of each character. They feel one-dimensional and contrived. Charles McKeown, the writer of Doctor Parnassus, who is well-known for his collaborations with Terry Gilliam, co-wrote the screenplay with Gilliam himself. Now, with his prior works, one being the masterful Brazil, one might expect a spectacular screenplay, but Doctor Parnassus seems bloated, rather than clear and laser-sighted, like Brazil. Each scene of Brazil has a sharp, satirical meaning behind it, whereas Doctor Parnassus seems, at times, frustratingly indecisive. A majority of the scenes, like the one mentioned above, contain some sort of moral weight and significance, but it is often heavy-handed and forced. There are characters with strong goals, but that is not necessarily enough for me to care.
Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus has a pretty extensive history involving the tragic loss of a wonderful actor by the name of Heath Ledger. This halted production, and Gilliam initially announced that the film was over. Production was suspended, but Gilliam was determined to finish the film. Ultimately he was able to, but with some alterations that included some additions to the cast. Heath Ledger’s great performance truly propels the film and makes everything work. As I said before, several actors were brought in to help the film work, which they do make sense in the context of the film. These actors were Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell. All of their performances do the character and Heath justice, especially Depp (like that was much of a surprise). Ledger’s character, Tony, happens to be the most interesting character in the bunch. He is found hanging by a rope, presumably by his own hand, and is thrust into the traveling troupe’s world. Tony initially can’t recall his name, due to slight amnesia. Because we know so little of Tony, whether or not he is feeding us lies or not, is what made him interesting. What does work about Jude Law, Johnny Depp, and Colin Farrell being brought in was how the character seems to shape-shift whenever he enters the mirror world. This goes along very well with Tony’s character having many faces. Aside from Ledger, Christopher Plummer also outdoes himself with the role of Doctor Parnassus. Plummer plays the part to perfection. He plays the slightly alcoholic, aging storyteller that still wants to spread his stories around, as he believes storytelling is crucial to the Universe and all of its inhabitants (which we can see a little bit of Gilliam himself in Doctor Parnassus). Doctor Parnassus, long ago, made a deal with the Devil that allowed him to live forever, but the Devil knew something that Parnassus did not – the world would change. Towards the finale of the film, Plummer has an amazing scene in the desert I spoke of earlier, right along with a poignant scene in the future. Tom Waits, as the Devil, does a good job at maintaining a deceitful, cunning character with tricks up his sleeves. Most of the acting in the film, aside from Ledger and Plummer, is competent. Verne Troyer is a nice addition to the film as Percy. Andrew Garfield is decent and plays his character pretty well, but only to the point that his character is understood. Lily Cole is almost exactly the same. That isn’t to say they were bad by any measure, but when compared to the acting of Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits, they were fairly average.
Although the plot and character development suffer to some extent due to the indecisive nature of the film, there was definitely one aspect that stood out very prominently. That aspect is the way each scene is handled and strengthened by extreme levels of drama. The “race to five souls” story is interesting, but it’s not the best part of the film – easily the most interesting drama comes from the relationship between Anton, Valentina, and Tony. During one early scene, Anton and Valentina are sitting on the carriage. Anton attempts to talk to her (jokingly at first) about running away together, but Valentina plays coy about her age and the absurdity of the notion. This entire scene is well-done; it clearly establishes Anton’s desire to be with Valentina. Now, as Tony inevitably arrives in the picture, he inadvertently shakes up the grounds between Anton and Valentina. He soon begins to form a relationship with Valentina, as she grows in fascination with him. Unlike Anton, Tony is able to bring in more of an audience than the troupe has ever been able to do. This causes some friction between Anton and Tony, but Valentina is smitten. Tony’s talent at bringing in audiences allows the entire troupe to eat and live better; everyone has grown to like him, aside from Anton. All throughout the film there are scenes of pure intensity that help the story along, and maintain the viewer’s interest in the characters. However, despite those scenes, each character is left only fleshed out to some minor degree.
One element of the film that hurt it considerably was the overabundance of CGI. I understand that to create these worlds, one needs a considerable budget and CGI, but I’ve always found Gilliam to be infinitely more interesting when he’s working within the confines of a real environment, where only a small amount of CGI is necessary. Gilliam’s sets for The Monty Python films, Brazil, and Time Bandits were some of the best I’ve ever seen, along with his costumes and make-up. But in the case of Doctor Parnassus, all of that seems to have been exchanged for a CGI that ultimately looks lackluster. To be honest, I have never been a big supporter of excessive CGI, but it can be done and utilized properly. Doctor Parnassus was a disappointment in that department, but that isn’t to say that he doesn’t redeem himself with several very Gilliam-like costumes, props, and other oddities. As a whole, the film is hurt significantly by some of the CGI, but there is still some Gilliam left in the film that feels palpable and realistic.
My review may seem biting, but The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is worth your time and money. Terry Gilliam has obviously created something with love and care, that is clearly very close to himself and how he sees the world around him. Despite Doctor Parnassus being one of the weaker films in his filmography, it is still a spectacle to view. If you’re a fan of Gilliam, like I am, then you will likely find something to love within Doctor Parnassus. As with every film of his, you can expect some unusual photography, interesting stories, great comedy, and always something visually interesting to look at. Whether you love the movie or hate it, I find it difficult to believe that one can’t be enchanted by the world Terry Gilliam has created for us, right along with some very important things to say about storytelling and imagination.
