Movie Review - The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Starring Christopher Plummer, Tom Waits, Heath Ledger, Lily Cole, Verne Troyer, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell
Directed by Terry Gilliam

Without a doubt, this is one of the weirdest flicks of the year. Sometimes weird works (see here). Sometimes weird doesn't (see here). Parnassus falls into the latter category and I can't get back the two hours I spent with it.

The huge problem with the movie is that absolutely nothing that matters happens during the first hour. We are welcomed into the world of Dr. Parnassus (Plummer), an old "shaman-esque" guy who travels around in a gypsy wagon with his fifteen year-old daughter Valentina (Cole), her friend Anton, and midget Percy (Troyer). Together, they put on shows and pull people off the streets to venture into the mystic mirror where, on the other side, everyone's imaginations can become a reality. When traveling one night, the group finds a man hanging from the underside of a London bridge. The man (Ledger) seems to have lost his memory, but they enlist him to help them in their little magical street shows.

Of course, none of that is the crux of the story...despite the fact that it takes up over sixty minutes. The real story comes in hour two where we discover that Dr. Parnassus has made a deal with the devil (a genuinely creepy Tom Waits), and unless Parnassus can capture five souls before the devil does, the devil will get to steal Parnassus' daughter for his own.

The devil scheme is the real story...everything else is superfluous and unnecessary. The whole storyline with Ledger is extraneous. And it starts off quite uncomfortably. I'm actually quite shocked that our first glimpse of Ledger is of him hanging himself. Unfortunately, once you get past the initial shock, you realize that it's a shame this will be known as Ledger's last role...because he's really not very good here. He must've known he was in a flop.

When Ledger steps into the mirror, his visage changes into that of fellow actors Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell, all of whom do a much more entertaining job than Ledger. When that trio is onscreen, the film actually becomes a little more enjoyable. They're simply not there enough to make a dent in the boredom.

When Verne Troyer (of Austin Powers fame) is the most entertaining person onscreen for the majority of your film, your flick is in trouble (and, really, the only reason Troyer is a hoot is because they dress him in black-face and a wind-up monkey costume). This film is supposed to be fantastical and wondrous, but it's really just dreary and bleak.

The RyMickey Rating: D