The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Like most Terry Gilliam films, this one verged on the incomprehensible. It came out like a succession of bizarre images pumped haphazardly into a plot. With this movie, though, I cannot be sure which were genius, and which necessity, as Heath Ledger's final performance was necessarily subsidized by Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and finally, Colin Farrell.

I loved the movie, though. I loved the message, and Tom Waits as the devil, against Christopher Plummer as a very old man with a very rich ability to let people see their own dreams. Instead of neatly-ordered Hollywood gift-wrapping, this film embraced chaos. The acting seemed scattered and drunk, even. It worked, in a way. The characters all felt off guard, and haphazard. It made the movie, and life by extension, seem unsettled and uncertain.

The themes in the film were extremely dark. Nooses abounded. It didn't feel dark, though. It felt colorful and wild, until the end, when Colin Farrell took over the Tony character, and took him to new lows of statutory rape and abuse. Under all the violence and depression, though, I sensed an almost theological depth that the film never plumbed.

After some consideration, I think I know what happened. I think the film rested on a balance of characters, but Heath Ledger's untimely death upset that balance, tipping too much of the attention away from Lily Cole's character, where the plot and ending would make more sense.

Rottentomatoes.com likes the film, especially as it feels like a return to Terry Gilliam's earlier work. Critics were largely positive in favor of Gilliam and his wild imagination.

See the film and decide for yourself.