Review of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009) by Claudette A — 21 Mar 2011

During the intro to this film, Director Terry Gilliam tells us how he reached a stage in his career, where like many other great visual directors before him, he simply desired to make a film that was sheer joy, and releasing his own imagination, he set about doing this.

Now, I love Terry Gilliam's films, but even I find the prospect of his imagination being allowed to roam free as a slightly daunting prospect.

The end result is The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus, unfortunately Heath Ledger's last ever movie, and it is usual Terry Gilliam stuff, quirky, visual, outright weird, but ultimately uplifting. The whole film is littered with visual treats and references, but ultimately doesnt really go anywhere. Never mind, just allow yourself to revel in the joy of pure visual film-making, and if you need eye-candy theres Heath Ledger, Jonny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law to look at. Saying all that, I personally feel that Andrew Garfield stole the show in this.

This simply wont be everybodys cup of tea, Gilliam's films rarely are, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.