Movie Review: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Hey there bloggies! I'm 99% sure we had a weekend, I'm just not sure I remember it. Why, it seems like only yesterday that I was sitting here, typing you a feverish missive. One thing I know I did this weekend was check out The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. I loved it. It was one of those reviews where I sat down thinking it was good but not great and then concluded it was great not good. Another note: When compiling our weekly report card, I couldn't help but notice that the grades were pretty high right now...then I remembered the season we're in. Right now, we're getting all of the good stuff that had been leisurely parcelled out elsewhere, which is yet another reason why I justify waiting until January of 2010 to do the best of 2009 here in Omaha. Anyhoo, just another movie to mention in that same conversation, as I've once more doled out an A. Ebert said this was one great year...he wasn't wrong, not by a long shot.
Morality Playtime
Do not pass on Parnassus
Terry Gilliam is cilantro.
Those who love him, covet his wild flavor; those who don’t, loathe his odd aftertaste, spitting him out after the first bite. Unsurprisingly, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is not Gilliam’s evangelical masterwork and will fail to convert a single reluctant devotee. It will, however, breathe fire back into the bellies of the believers with its subtle fragrance of Brazil and whimsical hints of The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Virtually mocking the “advancements” of James Cameron and his ilk, the imagery and narrative of Parnassus speaks as much about good and evil as the responsibility of storytellers to literally sustain the universe with imagination. No pressure.
Although it should be equally remembered for Gilliam’s rebirth, Parnassus will likely only be recalled as the final cinematic resting place of the late Heath Ledger. Ledger, who previously worked with Gilliam in the epic turd The Brothers Grimm, stars as Tony, an amnesiac found hanged beneath a bridge by a troupe of performers. Anton (Andrew Garfield), Valentina (Lily Cole) and Percy (Verne Troyer) retrieve and revive Tony, to the delight of Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer), who sees the stranger’s arrival as a potential turning point in his wager with the devil (Tom Waits) for the soul of Valentina, Parnassus’s daughter.
The wager plays out thusly: Parnassus uses his traveling stage show to convince viewers to enter a mirror that transports them to a world made of their imagination. Once inside, they will be presented two options: take the devil’s shortcut or Parnassus’s more difficult, but rewarding, path that leads to redemption on earth through creativity. The first to five souls claims Valentina’s. Within the framework of the centuries-old morality play, Gilliam and Charles McKeown crafted a story that seemingly points a finger at derivative modern moviemakers. Thankfully, it isn’t a wagging finger or a middle digit, but one that beckons others to simply try harder to recall the power inherent in imagineering.
As has been well documented, the untimely death of Ledger towards the conclusion of filming resulted in an interesting but vastly creative decision. Each of the three times Tony enters the mirror, he is transformed into a different actor. Tragic necessity may have demanded the inclusion of Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Collin Farrell, but the film is inexplicably better for it, which is not to say Ledger’s performance isn’t another stinging reminder of his now absent talent. Indeed, all performers are engaging, most notably the lightly maniacal Waits and the luminescent Cole, who is seemingly a Japanese anime character come to life.
It’s hard not to read Parnassus in a light other than that projected by the globally dominant Avatar. Whereas Cameron’s threadbare story seemed like the product of neglect, Gilliam’s simplistic work is a thin, but carefully chosen and easily approachable, skeleton on which truly unique visuals are hung. To be clear: this ain’t Brazil, but boy is it nice to see Gilliam back in that hemisphere.
Grade - A
Morality Playtime
Do not pass on Parnassus
Terry Gilliam is cilantro.
Those who love him, covet his wild flavor; those who don’t, loathe his odd aftertaste, spitting him out after the first bite. Unsurprisingly, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is not Gilliam’s evangelical masterwork and will fail to convert a single reluctant devotee. It will, however, breathe fire back into the bellies of the believers with its subtle fragrance of Brazil and whimsical hints of The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Virtually mocking the “advancements” of James Cameron and his ilk, the imagery and narrative of Parnassus speaks as much about good and evil as the responsibility of storytellers to literally sustain the universe with imagination. No pressure.
Although it should be equally remembered for Gilliam’s rebirth, Parnassus will likely only be recalled as the final cinematic resting place of the late Heath Ledger. Ledger, who previously worked with Gilliam in the epic turd The Brothers Grimm, stars as Tony, an amnesiac found hanged beneath a bridge by a troupe of performers. Anton (Andrew Garfield), Valentina (Lily Cole) and Percy (Verne Troyer) retrieve and revive Tony, to the delight of Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer), who sees the stranger’s arrival as a potential turning point in his wager with the devil (Tom Waits) for the soul of Valentina, Parnassus’s daughter.
The wager plays out thusly: Parnassus uses his traveling stage show to convince viewers to enter a mirror that transports them to a world made of their imagination. Once inside, they will be presented two options: take the devil’s shortcut or Parnassus’s more difficult, but rewarding, path that leads to redemption on earth through creativity. The first to five souls claims Valentina’s. Within the framework of the centuries-old morality play, Gilliam and Charles McKeown crafted a story that seemingly points a finger at derivative modern moviemakers. Thankfully, it isn’t a wagging finger or a middle digit, but one that beckons others to simply try harder to recall the power inherent in imagineering.
As has been well documented, the untimely death of Ledger towards the conclusion of filming resulted in an interesting but vastly creative decision. Each of the three times Tony enters the mirror, he is transformed into a different actor. Tragic necessity may have demanded the inclusion of Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Collin Farrell, but the film is inexplicably better for it, which is not to say Ledger’s performance isn’t another stinging reminder of his now absent talent. Indeed, all performers are engaging, most notably the lightly maniacal Waits and the luminescent Cole, who is seemingly a Japanese anime character come to life.
It’s hard not to read Parnassus in a light other than that projected by the globally dominant Avatar. Whereas Cameron’s threadbare story seemed like the product of neglect, Gilliam’s simplistic work is a thin, but carefully chosen and easily approachable, skeleton on which truly unique visuals are hung. To be clear: this ain’t Brazil, but boy is it nice to see Gilliam back in that hemisphere.
Grade - A
Labels: christopher plummer, collin ferrell, heath ledger, johnny depp, jude law, lily cole, Terry gilliam, the imaganiarium of doctor parnassus, the imaginarium of dr parnassus, tom waits
posted by Ryan at
8:49 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home