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Imaginarium troubles
There’s no easy way of saying this: The last movie of Heath Ledger simply doesn’t work.
Director Terry Gilliam brought “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” to Cannes on Friday, playing outside of the main competition. And as everyone knows, Ledger died halfway through the filming, more than a year ago.
Gilliam said his first reaction was to shut the film down. “I didn’t see how we could finish it, and that to do anything else wouldn’t be respectful.” But friends urged him to continue, and he got an idea. In the movie, Ledger’s character Tony goes through a magic mirror three times. So Gilliam thought it might make sense if the character’s appearance changed each time.
So what you get is a Ledger performance, interspersed with performances by three of his friends: Colin Farrell, Jude Law and Johnny Depp.
But the gimmick doesn’t work. It’s jarring, and the rest of the characters in the movie have to pretend to notice his changed appearance. So you get such comments as “you don’t look like Tony,” or something to that effect.
Even if Ledger had lived to complete the movie, it’s still doubtful that “The Imaginarium” would hold up. The story is too loosely constructed, with gaping holes filled with beautiful but meaningless imagery.
Gilliam saw the movie as an adventure through imagination, opening with an ancient wagon that’s traveling through the streets of modern-day London. The wagon contains Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer), his assistant (Verne Troyer, aka Mini-Me); his daughter (Lily Cole); and a young man who’s part of the magic act (Andrew Garfield.)
Ledger’s character comes in to the mix when the wagon stops on a bridge and the characters spot a body hanging from underneath it. It’s Ledger. And they rescue him and take him in. Ledger’s character, however, is clearly a con man and has swindled some crooks out of money through a charity for children.
He becomes a master hawker, getting people to enter Doctor Parnassus’ magic mirror, where they will be greeted by their imaginations, both good and bad. And each one must make a final choice. One gives them a fresh life. The other kills them.
As it turns out, Parnassus is thousands of years old, having made a pact with the devil for immortality. But during one of his bets with the devil, played by Tom Waits, he ends up have to turn his daughter over to the devil, once she’s 16. Her birthday is approaching. And therein lies what should be the climax. But the movie meanders, and different threads are never tied up.
In his last performance, Ledger exudes energy and vitality. So it’s sad to watch, knowing what we do. The closing credits say the movie is dedicated to Ledger and his friends. And Gilliam was teary-eyed when talking about Ledger after the movie’s screening Friday. His intent may have been noble. But good intentions don’t make a movie good.
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