Peculiar premise meets underproduction. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is like a friend's play. You might not be dazzled by the overall show, but it's cool to see him/her in a performance. Imaginarium is, most famously, Heath Ledger's last film. His death during filming gave this film an undeserved level of hype and viewership. Ledger's performance outshone his castmates' but that might be because, due to his death, all my attention was on him. And of course who better to replace Ledger than Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell, because they each get a scene in Ledger's place. The supporting cast, Christopher Plummer (The Sound of Music, Up), Lily Cole and Andrew Garfield (Lions for Lambs, The Social Network) had notably poor acting choices, but none surpass Verne Troyer's (Austin Powers series, Bubble Boy) complete lack of character attributes. However, Tom Waits' (musician) performance as Mr. Nick, described as "the devil," was nothing short of impressive. And director Terry Gilliam (12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, also Monty Python) continues his stretch of quirky, hazy films.
Imaginarium is about a traveling troupe of carnie-types with an unusual service. They're lead by Doctor Parnassus, a wise but conflicted monk who is prone to make wagers with Mr. Nick. He possesses a mirror-like device called an imaginarium which, when entered, transforms the surrounding environment into the contents of the user's imagination. It is through the imaginarium that Doctor Parnassus and Mr. Nick make wagers on collecting souls. Things get complicated when Tony (Ledger) breaks the fragile bonds among the group and certain secrets he's concealing are revealed.
Similar movies: Across the Universe; Labyrinth (by request)
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