In the back streets of London, Dr Parnassus (a very very old man), his daughter, a young man, and a midget drive around with their traveling show. On the surface, it appears that Dr. Parnassus is merely a crazy old man but by participating in his show, you gain access to a magical world that will change your life(white chocolate mocha). The problem is two-fold. One, no one is this modern age will participate. Two, Parnassus made a deal with the devil several years ago and on her sixteenth birthday, he loses his daughter. But, a mysterious stranger (Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell all playing the same person) shows up and turns things around.
This movie has a great behind the scenes story. When Ledger died, he had not updated his will in several years, meaning that his three year old daughter received none of his money. At the time of his death he was in the middle of filming this movie. Director Terry Gilliam still wanted to finish the film. Depp, Farrell, and Law all not only agreed to help finish with the film but also wanted everything that they would be paid to be given to Ledger’s daughter. And surprisingly, three actors playing the same character works. Anyway, this movie is trippy. In a good way. It’s a modern day fantasy without trying to rewrite old fairy tales, which we’ve seen far too much of these days. Instead, the story is very original, unless it’s based on a book I don’t know about, and isn’t totally full of itself. The performances are all very strong, particularly newcomer Lily Cole as the daughter but my opinion might be tainted because she’s beautiful. The other actors are great too though. A big highlight though is the magical world of the imaginarium. It looks like a world based on Gilliam’s drawings back when he was still with Monty Python. It sounds too weird, but it’s actually quite lovely. And whimsical at the same time.
The movie is definitely not for everyone. It’s really trippy and the ending is a little disjointed, abrupt, and too open ended. At times the fantasy world gets to strange, leaving you to think, “hold on, what just happened?” One scene does leave you feeling a little disturbed but it was Colin Farrell so it’s okay. There’s also a couple of questions about the Ledger/Depp/Law/Farrell character that are never answered. Such as why doesn’t his imagination affect the Imaginarium? You’ll understand that if you see it.
This is a great late night movie but as trippy as it is, I don’t see it becoming a stoner movie. I do think it has the potential to develop a small cult following. B.
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