The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Movie Review

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)

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Written by: Terry Gilliam, Charles McKeown
Directed by: Terry Gilliam
Starring: Christopher Plummer, Lily Cole, Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell
Rated: PG-13
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Plot
A traveling show discovers a man hanging from a bridge by his neck. Doctor Parnassus thinks the man may be the key to win his wager with the devil.

Verdict
It's an entertaining and fun watch, with stunning CGI set pieces. I was skeptical about four actors playing one role, but it works completely. 
Watch it.

Review
This was Heath Ledger's final film, as he passed away during filming. Depp, Law, and Farrell also played Ledger's role. If I didn't know what happened during production, I would have assumed the movie was written that way. It makes perfect sense why the same role appears as a different character.
From the start, you know this world is fantastical. A drunk disrupts an outdoor show and then enters a mirror that transports him to and otherworldly dimension. This dimension is Doctor Parnassus's imagination. The drunk has an important decision, choose a bar or choose to ascend twelve steps to something even better. Of course, the drunk succumbs to his base desires and the bar explodes after he enters.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - An entertaining fantasy adventure.

The performers of this show and their horse drawn stage don't fit into the modern world, yet here they are with the powerful Doctor Parnassus. As the performers state, the world is full of wonder for those willing to see. Their words fall on deaf ears, children pass by watching phones, and adults are too busy arguing to see the wonder. The wonder has a cost. The devil has come to collect. At this point we're not sure what, though I wondered if it was Doctor Parnassus's soul. The devil proposes a wager. The first to gain five souls wins an unknown bet.

The stage show discovers Tony Shepherd (Heath Ledger) hanging from his neck by a bridge. They rescue him and discover he's alive. Parnassus believes they've encoutnered  Tony for a reason, and he allows Tony to update the show. Tony is a skilled speaker and easily attracts a crowd that's willing to pay. The more people that enter the imaginarium, the more chances Parnassus has to win a soul away from the devil. When Tony enters the imaginarium of Parnassus with a customer, he looks different because that's how the customer wants him to look. It's a clever way to solve the issue of not having Ledger for every scene.

Doctor Parnassus's wager is over his daughter. He agreed to give the devil his daughter Valentina for the ability to appear young and woo Valentina's mother. Everyone in Parnassus's imaginarium makes a choice for good or bad. The bad choice is something they want, though it's morally corrupt, their soul going to the devil. Tony agrees to give his soul to Parnassus, but not without a cost. Tony wants to know the secrets of the imaginarium. The devil modifies the bet and will free Parnassus's daughter for Tony's soul.
Parnassus gives the devil Tony's soul, but is trapped himself in the imaginarium. It's not until he makes a choice of his own, that he can escape. He had wanted others to make a selfless choice in the imaginarium, but he hadn't made a selfless choice in his deal with the devil. Parnassus had to give up the prize to make it stop. He had to let go of his daughter, the reminder of the deal he made with the devil to falsely woo Valentina's mother.