Terry Gilliam always delivers when it comes to looks and presentation. The key is how well the project works otherwise. "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" delivers in spades as far as appearance, particularly when the characters walk into the magic mirror. On the other side of the mirror lies the product of that person's imagination, whether it be a happy place or a scene less pleasing to the individual.
One of the stars is Heath Ledger, as Tony, and that casts a shadow over the production. To both Ledger's and Gilliam's credit, you are able to stop thinking about it, after initially focusing on the fact that this is Ledger's last time onscreen. Ledger died during production and Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell stepped forward to prevent the project from being scrapped. Because this is a fantasy piece, Tony could take on different appearances and those are all pretty good people to have for this task
Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) is an immortal 1000-year-old who heads a travelling theatre troupe. The troupe includes Anton (Andrew Garfield), the young magician, Percy (Verne Troyer), a wise and wise-cracking dwarf, and Valentina (Lily Cole), the beautiful young daughter of the doctor. It's three days before Valentina's sixteenth birthday, and Parnassus long ago made a bet with the Devil (Tom Waits). If the doctor loses, the Devil will take possession of his daughter. While I love fantasy, I had trouble believing that dad would make a bet such as this, but I got over it. As the troupe makes its way over a bridge, they find Tony hanging from a rope. They cut him down and he joins them. Why he was hanging there is a point of contention among the group but it is a fairly minor plot point. The entire plot is almost irrelevant; this is a feast for the eyes and not much else.
All of the actors do their job, but Plummer and Waits especially excel. Lily Cole is the newcomer and she possesses an especially unusual beauty, in a fashion similar to Christina Ricci. Perhaps it has something to do with their roundish-appearing faces. "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" is a whole lot of fun, especially when we venture behind the magical mirror. I'm not sure I've ever seen more magical set pieces. The last one did remind me of parts of "Beetlejuice". Unfortunately, the rest does not keep up but bring your imagination and let your mind become the property of Gilliam and you won't regret it.
