By far the strangest film I have seen since Harold and Maude. I made the big mistake of not researching anything about this movie before going into it. All I knew was that Heath Ledger was in the middle of filming it before he died back in 2008. So, because of this lack of information, I went into the movie thinking that it would be a fantasy-adventure film, much like Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (perhaps it was the title?). It was actually a very dark movie about wager and deception, but it was more importantly about coping with stupid decisions that one may make in his or her life, and not digging yourself deeper by making more bad decisions. Doctor Parnassus, played by Christopher Plummer, wins his immortality from a bet with the Devil (Tom Waits) many centuries ago. Now, the Devil is coming back to receive another payment from Doc, in which he must give the Devil his daughter on the night of her 16th birthday. Heath Ledger plays Tony, a charismatic entrepreneur, who is saved by Doctor Parnassus and his troupe. Doc has a traveling show in which he allows participants to travel through a mirror and into their own imagination guided by his powers.
I found the storytelling to be a little bit weak, and also felt that there should have been a shift of emphasis between certain aspects of the story--such as showing the Doctor's love for his wife to be a little bit stronger. The movie relied too much on the visuals to tell the story, and not enough balance between that and the dialogue. I felt like it was really up to me to interpret what was going on in much of the movie. The film was extremely slow at some parts, and confusing as well--especially towards the beginning. However, the visuals of the Imaginarium are incredible and make you want to be able to experience it for yourself.
Though this movie was in the middle of production when Heath Ledger died, the director, Terry Gilliam, decided to finish the filming anyway. Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell all played Ledger's character in the dream land at different points in the movie.
This film is definitely worth seeing--even if you don't manage to catch it while it's in theaters. But it is also a movie that I would have to watch a second time to really base a full opinion off of it. I was kinda confused as to why and how the ending of the movie occurred, so it would help to see it again anyway. I liked how they portrayed your imagination as being both good and evil and that you always have the last say in what decisions you make in life--whether they are wrong or right. It was, however, a little bit hard to decide who the protagonist is in the film--and you will see what I mean if you watch it. You don't know who to trust at all, and at the end of the film, I found myself wondering, "were ANY of them good?!"
In watching this movie, I realized that I can't always base my opinion of a film solely on whether or not it was appealing to me at first watch. It is important to understand the vision of the filmmaker, and whether or not he or she accomplished the goal that you think they wanted to accomplish in making the movie. Overall, I think that he did.
Overall Grade: C+ (I'll let you know if it changes)
-Ethan Brehm
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