THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS — ★★★ — Christopher Plummer, Heath Ledger, Lily Cole; rated PG-13 (violence, slurs, profanity, vulgarity, nude artwork, brief sex); Broadway Centre
As if we needed any further proof of Heath Ledger's incredible talents, there's "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus."
The troubled production features the late Aussie actor's final big-screen performance, and as usual, he was terrific and very watchable.
That alone should be enough for his fans to want to see this rather peculiar, offbeat movie.
The other reason would be that it comes from co-screenwriter/director Terry Gilliam, a filmmaker whose worst movies are never uninteresting.
The title character of Gilliam's latest, a dark fantasy, is played by Christopher Plummer. He's an immortal storyteller who's been in a centuries-old, good-vs.-evil struggle with the Devil — or as he's known here, Mr. Nick (Tom Waits).
Parnassus has been collecting souls for the forces of good with his Imaginarium. It's a traveling stage show, one that also features his teenage daughter, Valentina (Lily Cole), and stage assistants Anton (Andrew Garfield) and Percy (Verne Troyer).
The newest addition to their ranks is Tony (Ledger), who they discover dangling, nearly lifeless, from a bridge.
But this fast-talking con man might be what Parnassus needs to best his eternal opponent once and for all.
Obviously, as with most of Gilliam's movies, this story is filled with increasingly bizarre turns. When Tony ventures into the Imaginarium, his appearance changes and the character is played by, alternatingly, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell.
That move was necessitated by Ledger's tragic death. But it works surprisingly well (of the three, Depp really nails the tone of Ledger's performance).
And Gilliam is more sure-footed and confident in his storytelling than he's been in years. Here he's again obsessed with the power of mythology and imagination, which he also explored with mixed results in "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" (1988) and "The Brothers Grimm" (2005), another film that featured Ledger.
"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" is rated PG-13 and features some strong violent content and imagery (fisticuffs, hangings, explosive mayhem, rioting, and violence against women and children), derogatory language and slurs (some based on supposed disabilities), scattered strong profanity, a few vulgar references (slang) and other suggestive language, glimpses of nude artwork, and a brief sex scene (mostly implied). Running time: 122 minutes.
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