The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus

I was originally drawn to this movie, like a lot of people because it was Heath Ledger's last film before he died.

And I saw it and I was intrigued so I had to watch it again. And now I am watching again so I can give my honest opinion of the movie.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus follows the story of the title character, Dr. Parnassus (played by Christopher Plummer). He is a man who has lived for centuries and is immortal. Long ago, he made a deal with the devil to not only live for eternity but to have everything he's dream of, including a woman and expanded powers over the imagination. The price of this wish is that any offspring the Doctor has belongs to the Devil when she turns 16.

Sixteen years later he travels in a sideshow with his daughter, Valentina (played by Lily Cole) an orphan stage hand named Anton (played by Andrew Garfield) and his confidant, a dwarf named Percy (played by Verne Troyer). They travel around, performing. Until they find a stranger hanging under a bridge. This stranger they soon figure out is named Tony (played by Heath Ledger).

The Devil comes to Parnassus right before his daughter's birthday and challenges him to one more wager. Whoever wins 5 souls before his daughters birthday wins. If Parnassus wins, he doesn't have to give the Devil his daughter. If he loses... well he gives the Devil his daughter.

Now when they find Tony, he has a case of amnesia. Part of the movie is the mystery behind this random encounter they come across and how he will affect the wager.

There are a lot of unique things about this movie, first and foremost being the Imaginarium itself. In order for Parnassus to win souls over, he must convince them to make a choice of enlightenment or blissful ignorance in the colorful world of the Imaginarium that Parnassus facilitates.

This had to be one of the draws to the movie apart from Ledger's involvement, the Imaginarium is a colorful whimsical world based on people's imaginations. While the physics of the world make no sense whatsoever, there is enough explanation to suspend disbelief and just enjoy the visuals the movie offers.

Relating to that is the effect the Imaginarium has on Tony. Due to the untimely death of Ledger, there were several scenes of the movie that had not been filmed. In response to this, there was a creative way to continue telling the story while keeping the already filmed scenes.

They got Colin Ferrel, Johnny Depp and Jude Law to step in and play the part of Tony when he is in the Imaginarium. The way this is explained is very creative and fascinating in my opinion. Depending on the imagination being depicted in the Imaginarium, that is how Tony appears. The first time he goes in, the Imaginarium is controlled by the imagination of a woman who imagines Tony with Johnny Depp's face. The second time he goes into his own imagination that portrays him as a successful businessman. And finally, when he's in Valentina's imagination, she imagines him as the perfect man, a depiction she saw in a magazine.

Its fortunate that the movie is such a creative premise that this works perfectly. I think eventually when people watch this movie who do not know about the untimely death of Heath Ledger, may see this as an artistic choice. And if not, it still works.

This was actually a big draw for me to see the movie. I wanted to see how these actors could be incorporated and how well it flows with the scenes already shot. And I thought it worked pretty damn well.

The Overall theme of the movie is one of my favorite elements of it. The costumes are fantastic. The mythology is just color and unique that its just a fun movie to look at.

Now all that aside, what is the story like?

The story for the most part is good. It's very fairytale-like and straight forward... for the most part.

Its actually Ledger's character that somewhat muddles the story a bit which is kind of a shame. It's very straight forward on its own, Parnassus has to save 5 souls before the Devil takes his. The first 2 thirds of the movie, Ledger is helping Parnassus do this but then the last act of the movie suddenly turns and Tony's past is revealed and suddenly things change. I won't spoil the ending but the last act is the more confusing part.

Aside from the wager, there's a love triangle between Tony, Valentina, and Anton. Now its not as weird as you think because Lily Cole is in actuality in her twenties but in this movie she is portrayed as a 16 year old. And Ledger... is much older. Yes they justify it by saying its the age of consent... but its still kind of weird. A little bit of suspension of disbelief needs to be done for the sake of the fairytale feel to it but again... still kinda weird.

The fortunate part about it is that the more you watch it the more you get out of it. Luckily, its the kind of movie that entices you to watch it again.

Put aside the not totally clear guidelines of the wager between the Devil and Parnassus, put aside the statutory rape charges that could possibly be filed, and put aside the convoluted ending, Parnassus is a fun flick.

Its a fun imaginative story with a colorful environment for the characters to play in.

I recommend The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus regardless of whether or not you were a fan of Heath Ledger.

So have you seen Dr. Parnassus? What did you think? What did you think of the way they covered after the death of Ledger? Share your thoughts and recommendations below.

I will leave you with a similar send off when I did Timeline. Although its been 5 years since Ledger dies, its still worth giving him a tribute for a life that was ended too soon. Here's Ledger winning best supporting actor for his role as the Joker in the Dark Knight posthumously.