The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Idiosyncratic filmmaker Terry Gilliam dazzles with this contemporary fantastical morality tale revolving around a London carnival sideshow run by the enigmatic, often inebriated Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer). When patrons step into the doctor's makeshift “magical mirror,” they enter a phantasmagorical, imaginary world of their own making that is dictated by a series of individual choices. Dr. Parnassus himself is facing a serious dilemma: in order to achieve immortality, he made a bizarre deal years ago with the devil (Tom Waits) to hand over the soul of his beloved daughter, Valentina (Lily Cole), on her 16th birthday—now only three days away. Meanwhile, Parnassus' ragtag crew (Verne Troyer and Andrew Garfield) save the life of Tony (Heath Ledger), a suave amnesiac whom they discover hanging by his neck under a bridge. It seems that sly, silver-tongued Tony has a secret past that makes his colorful persona change in the imaginary “looking-glass” world, an ingenious gimmick that allowed Gilliam to integrate performances by Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell as alter-egos of Tony after Ledger's mid-production death in 2008. The chameleon transformations are spectacular, both thematically and visually, and Gilliam's distinctive style involves whimsical use of various cinematic devices, including CGI, to explore universal themes of good and evil in this complex film luminously shot by cinematographer Nicola Pecorini. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Terry Gilliam, an intro by Gilliam (3 min.), a “Cast & Crew Presentation on Stage” featurette from London in 2009 (9 min.), the production featurettes “Building the Monastery” (8 min.) and “Behind the Mirror” (4 min.), “Doctor Parnassus Around the World” on premieres (6 min.), Gilliam discussing the film's art (5 min.), a deleted scene (4 min.), an interview with costar Heath Ledger (3 min.), a Ledger wardrobe test (2 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is “The Imaginarium of Terry Gilliam” featurette (7 min.), a “Heath Ledger and Friends” cast and crew tribute (6 min.), “The Drunk” multi-angle featurette (2 min.), and the “movieIQ” and BD-Live functions. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a typically mind-blowing Gilliam film.] (S. Granger)