Review of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009) by Sam B — 25 Apr 2013

It's a Terry Gilliam film. It's going to be odd. That's just a given. And it has to be said that the visuals in this film work a lot better than the ones in some of his earlier films (Brazil) where the effects technology needed to realize the world simply didn't exist, or in some of his attempts at being mainstream (The Brothers Grimm) where he toned them down somewhat. But in the end I felt as I always feel when watching a Terry Gilliam film: that unique visuals and unusual stories do not in themselves a good film make.

As always his stories rely on cheap tricks and irrational behavior (his films could even be seen as a study in irrationality) and here there just isn't enough else to raise it above the bar. And his constant theme that the modern world is experiencing a lack of imagination (ie: modern imagination, which is often more extreme than anything that came before, doesn't match up with his imagination and is therefore stilted and repressed) doesn't help at all. I felt talked down to. I found myself bored by about the one hour mark, and despite a surprise twist or two never regained my interest.

A lot of people want to see this film for Heath Ledger's final performance. I can't deny being curious to see how they completed the movie with a good part of his filming still undone. And the way they go about it is nothing short of brilliant. They had completed most of the real world scenes since that was location work, but left undone were the fantasyland sequences. So, establishing early on that people going into the Imaginarium experience a face-change into what they want to be, they recast Ledger in these sequences with Johnny Depp (as the romantic stranger), Jude Law (as the eager dreamer), and Colin Farrell (as the cad). They are all made up to look similar to Ledger, and they do such a good job that it can take a little while to spot the shift.