The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Dir. Terry Gilliam
Starring: Christopher Plummer, Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Collin Farrell, Tom Waits
Canada/U.K., 2009, 122 mins.

Both screenings of this highly-anticipated film were sold out well before their screening dates as it seemed that everyone was intrigued by Heath Ledger’s final swan song. However, the aforementioned actor did not make his appearance in the film for the first 30 minutes.

The story opens with Doctor Parnassus (skillfully portrayed by Christopher Plummer) and his daughter (played delightfully by acting newcomer and international supermodel Lily Cole) traveling in a horse-drawn caravan with a band of misfits. This group, in fact, stops occasionally and sets up their “show” entitled “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.” The show allows its audience members to go through a “magic mirror,” entering their own dreams and wildest imaginations.

When we first meet Ledger, he is dangling off a bridge to his death. Once revived, he joins the traveling circus and takes a role in the show. The rest of the film takes its audience, in true Terry Gillam style, through surrealist twist and turns, filmed in both London, England and Vancouver, Canada.

If the all-star cast was not enough to attract you, the special affects should be. Not only does Ledger sensibly morph into the likes of Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Collin Farrell, thanks to skillful editors, but the candy-colored, absurdist “imagination” scenes provide much contrast to the dreary, dimply-lit streets of London.

The Oscar buzz surrounding this film is already deafening and deserving of the major box office price when it hits theaters later this year.