The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is the latest and much anticipated creation of Terry Gilliam, the man who co-wrote Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) and directed The Fisher King (1991) and 12 Monkeys (1995), and this time he’s done a double whammy, both writing and directing The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

The Plot

This film is set in present day with Doctor Parnassus and his extraordinary “Imaginarium” – a travelling show and crew who offer members of the audience should there be any, a chance to live their dreams and fantasies temporarily once they step through the magical mirror behind the mysterious Doctor Parnassus who controls the and assists the imagination of each person that enters his magical world.

Although the Doctor may seemed blessed with the gift of guiding other people’s imaginations, he has a dark secret that he is ashamed of and that is having made two deals with the devil – the first being immortality. But a few centuries on, he met his one true love and the Doctor wished for mortality again so that they may grow old together. The Devil granted his wish on the one condition that when their first born child reaches their 16th birthday, he or she will become the Devil’s property.

Now the Doctor’s beautiful daughter Valentina, is fast approaching this milestone and the Doctor is distraught, and tries to think of ways he can prevent the Devil from taking her away from him. In his desperate attempts to undo his mistakes of the past, he makes yet another deal with the Devil and the winner of this deal will win Valentina…

Featuring a star-studded cast including the late Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, Jude Law, Christopher Plummer, Tom Waits, the lovely model Lily Cole and a cameo appearance from singer Paloma Faith.

The Thoughts

This film promises originality and fantasy unlike anything out there as we are taken into Doctor Parnassus’s bizarre, whimsical world of imagination land and I couldn’t be more excited about going to see this film on Friday. But dear dear dear, did it disappoint me. The first half an hour had me frowning in impatience and frustration, and the rest of the film had breathtaking visual moments where I was thinking “Finally!” and then that feeling subsided into disappointment once again. There are so many wonderful ideas and so many ways to make the film wonderful, alas, the plot was too piecey and hard to follow, the surrealism never quite executes in the way you needed it to, and you find yourself wondering what the characters are running around trying to do, because whatever it is, they’re not achieving it.

Apart from some scenes being visually stunning, Lily Cole’s acting being surprisingly good for a model and being able to see the late Heath Ledger in his last performance, the rest of it is I’m afraid – a shambles.

Maz thinks:

If Heath Ledger hadn’t died, would this film be as popular as it is?

The Film Buzz Review Rating: 5/10

Release Date: 16 October 2009

Director: Terry Gilliam

Writer’s: Terry Gilliam, Charles McKeown

Links: IMDB, Official Site, Rotten Tomatoes