There's a lot of buzz surrounding this film, due to the fact that it was the last role Heath Ledger filmed before his tragic death last January. Questions were raised as to whether director Terry Gilliam would actually finish or release the film, and about how much of Heath's role had been filmed before he passed away. Well, the film
was finished, and it's finally out. Saying something like that doesn't carry as much as impact as it would...we get most films significantly later than the US, and even when we don't, critics generally get to see them before a commoner like myself does. You might've already been reading statements like "Well, the film is finally here..." for months (IGN, for instance, reviewed
Parnassus as early as May). Onto
my review, anyway...
To get the story out of the way: this film
seems to be mostly about Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer), a man who has the ability to present his own imagination, and those of others, through a magic mirror. He has made a deal with the Devil (Tom Waits), however, to gain immortality. The story begins as the Devil comes to collect on this, and the film takes us through Parnassus's attempts to keep what he's promised the Devil, through various wagers. That's the over-riding story arc, although we are also treated to the story of Tony (Heath Ledger), who Parnassus's troupe find hanging under a bridge, which comes to play a part in the larger arc. None of those were very good sentences...but I hate reviews that give away loads of the story, so I'm trying to avoid it as much as I can.
To questions regarding how much of Heath Ledger's role was filmed, the answer is: most of it. All of the scenes outside of Parnassus's magical mirror have Ledger playing his character, Tony, and it seems like the amount of screentime that was originally intended. As with the Joker in
The Dark Knight, again we see (unfortunately, for the last time) what a talented man Ledger was, and what a great loss to the acting community his death was. His performance here is incredibly charismatic, occasionally reminding me of Johnny Depp in
Pirates of the Caribbean in terms of style of humour. It is quite a comedic role (albeit not towards the end), and according to Terry Gilliam, he improvised much of the comedy, again demonstrating his talents. What happens when he travels
into the mirror, then? You've most likely heard that he's portrayed by Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell - one actor for each time he goes into it (in a strikingly honourable gesture, all three gave their salaries to Ledger's daughter). The transition into the different actors is quite seamless, and it almost seems as though this was the intention from the start (although obviously, it wasn't). Regrettably (yes, I did just thesaurus.com "unfortunately"), due to the fact that Depp, Law, and Farrell are simply emulating Ledger's performance, none of them really bring anything special to the role; it's just a different face. Still, while nothing is
added, luckily nothing is
taken away by the three changes in appearance.
The rest of the cast are good; considering her modeling background, Lily Cole is quite naturalistic in her portrayal of Valentina, Parnassus's daughter. Anton, played by Andrew Garfield, is another member of Parnassus's traveling show who is smitten with Valentina. He's a rival to Tony, and a "cheeky chap" type guy who you grow to like; his attitude and humour are entertaining to watch, although there's not really enough of it. And the final member of the troupe is Percy, played by Verne Troyer (who most people know as Mini Me). This is one of the largest roles he's received in film thus far, and it goes to show he should be getting more, as Troyer is, like everyone else, very well suited for the part of the irritable Percy. I've only given about a sentence each to each of these actors, because I don't really have much to say about them... They're all generally in it for an equal amount, and are perfectly suited to their roles, but none particularly stand out as fantastic, memorable performances or characters. Percy and Anton are funny at times, and Valentina has a very realistic teenage-girl attitude. I think it's just that none of the characters are explored enough, or given much to do. This is also a main problem with the story, but I'll get onto that later...
Christopher Plummer is marvelous as the often drunk Doctor Parnassus himself, but like the rest of the cast travelling in his carriage, he isn't given much "exciting" to do with his character. Opposite him is Tom Waits as the Devil, which I was really looking forward to seeing, but there is something lacking about the performance. I was hoping a bit more humour or flair would be injected into the character, but alas, he also falls victim to the not-
enough-to-do syndrome that plagues the film's cast. They don't do anything particularly special, unique, or crazy.
The film's main fault lies with the story. We don't spend enough time with one particular character in order to root for them as a hero. Rather than successfully integrate main plots and subplots, the film awkwardly switches focus between different aspects of the story; between Parnassus's quest, Tony's background, Tony's fascination with the mirror, and Anton and Tony's rivalry for Valentina's affections. We are treated to part of a particular storyline, which will be forgotten for a while, and then suddenly resolved at moment in the film where we
should be engaged in a
different part of the plot. It keeps us at a certain distance from most of the characters, and coupled with the fact that none of them are given the time to properly explore their humour (Tony and Antony) or their past (Doctor Parnassus), it's kind of all over the place. For instance, Parnassus's past with the Devil is skimmed over quickly, and is something that I wish we could've seen more of, for pure entertainment value, and to let us care more about the situation the two find themselves in. The sort of God / Jesus thing going on was intriguing, and could've made a fantastic film in itself...
Where the film shines is in
some of its visuals. The carriage itself has a wonderful Victorian aesthetic that stands out brilliantly as an instance of magic in modern-day, real-world London (in a similar way to the
Harry Potter films). The costumes and the lighting of the main cast are great, and visually pleasing to look at. The scene in which we see Parnassus's first meeting with the Devil is an example of what wonderful, magical places could've been created for the mirror. However, the scenes within the mirror are visually disappointing, and this is mainly due to the fact that they are almost entirely CGI. Some of the ideas presented could've looked much better if created in a more practical manner, such as the opening scene's drunkard falling down into a giant pinhead, the rocky desert it occupies, and the bar he goes into. It looks significantly less authentic than the practical sets used for the carriage itself. The first time the mirror is entered, the drunkard who has just stumbled out a club walks through a dark forest of cut-out trees, and falls into a pit of empty bottles. It looks twisted in a great way, but this is contrasted by the majority of the mirror scenes which appear later - they consist of ridiculously vivid colours that are just unappealing to look at. It's much less twisted, less interesting, and too much like a children's TV show. This and the CGI just mean that some of the scenes don't look as good as they could have.
Overall, the movie is a jumble of different characters, different plotlines, and a contrast in wonderful, and not-so-wonderful visuals. Considering the loss of Heath Ledger halfway into the film's production, the film has come out as well as it could have - ironically, Tony's transition between 4 different actors is the least jarring "inconsistent" thing, and the only one that
doesn't detract from the viewing. It's impossible for us to know how
Doctor Parnassus would've turned out if Ledger wasn't lost, but it might well have been quite similar to what we have here, which is a mish-mash of lots of different...well...
stuff. The characters are fun, albeit unexplored, and so their plotlines, while irregular, are interesting enough to see through to the end. It just would've been better if all of the film's aspects had been sewn together in a more integrated manner, and if the whole thing had been presented with a wider scope, in terms of the characters, and the variety of lands and stories through the mirror.
5.5/10
