Inspiration comes in odd forms. For director Terry Gilliam, the death of Heath Ledger during shooting seems to have helped him make one of his best films in years, “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.”
The 28-year-old Ledger — looking weary and roughly a decade older than his years — had shot only half his scenes for a supporting role in this dark fantasy when he died nearly two years ago.
But he had completed all of his scenes set in present-day London, where the title character, a centuries-old magician (well played by Christopher Plummer) presents a decrepit show from a horse-drawn traveling stage playing to very small audiences in dodgy waterfront areas.
Ledger’s first appearance is, under the circumstances, rather shocking. His character, Tony, is swinging from a bridge on a rope during a suicide attempt after a scandal involving a children’s charity.
Tony survives and joins the gin-swigging Dr. Parnassus’ ragtag troupe, which includes the good doctor’s lovely daughter Valentina (Lily Cole); the acrobatic Anton (Andrew Garfield), who fancies Valentina; and the sarcastic dwarf Percy (Verne Troyer of Mini-Me fame).
Dr. P has the gift/curse of eternal life after winning one of a series of bets with Mr. Nick (Tom Waits), a k a The Devil. Under the terms of their latest wager, Parnassus will forfeit Lily to him on her upcoming 16th birthday unless he can deliver five souls to Mr. Nick.
The method of conveyance is a magic mirror that allows unsuspecting customers to wander through wild mindscapes created by their own dreams and Dr. Parnassus’ imagination. Ultimately, they have to choose between Dr. Parnassus and Mr. Nick.
A white-suited Tony acts as a sort of tour guide in these sequences, which Ledger had not yet shot when he died of a drug overdose. So whenever Tony goes through the mirror, Ledger is replaced in scenes by Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell.
The Depp sequence is especially poignant, apparently rewritten with references to other celebrities who died before their time — Rudolph Valentino, James Dean and Princess Di — and who will remain “forever young” in our imaginations.
The eye-popping “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” is not up to the very best work of either Gilliam (“Brazil”) or Ledger (“The Dark Knight”), but it’s a surprisingly satisfying coda to the latter’s all-too-brief career.