The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is a wonderfully oddball feature from British quirkster and Monty Pythons alum Terry Gillam. The film may more be well known as Heath Ledger's official swansong from Hollywood, as his death required completion of his role by Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell as alternate personifications of his character. The effect works wonderfully; I was uneasy that Gillam could pull it off at first, but I was wrong, and found myself enjoying a whimsical, if not overly-bizarre fantasy gem.
Aesthetically, the film is great. Gillam brings together a world full of colorful art direction that's augmented by some respectfully well-done CGI. It's very reminiscent of films like MirrorMask that serve as the film's larger attraction. I'm sure if the production had a bit more money, this would fit right in IMAX territory with it's visuals. As I may have inferred earlier, the acting is good, with a lot of familiar faces from British cinema, and even Verne Troyer as a right-hand to the Dr. himself.
So, what could have possibly kept me from falling completely head-over-heels with this tale of whimsy? The fact that the story was a lot for me to take in on the first try. I got a basic gist of what was going on, but I was so engrossed in the visuals it was really hard to pay attention to the story. When I finished, I looked up a synopsis and it made a little more sense to me, I just didn't understand why it was much harder to convey to me the first time around. Nevertheless, if you enjoy fantasy, this should be right up your alley.
7/10
Peace,
- Jon
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