Movies With Just Michael: The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus

So last night I did not watch another movie from the Gorehouse Greats collection. Instead I went and saw The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus with my good friend Lauren. Now, since there is a chacne you will actually want to see this movie, I will not give away the ending, as I usually do. Instead I am going to take a more traditional approach. I will also be using a different rating system, since the one I currently have in place will not do this movie justice.
First off, I'd just like to say I am really surprised this movie did nto get more attention than it did. Not only was it Heath Ledger's last film (he died a third of the way through production) but it is also an AMAZING movie. The visual effects, the characters, everything in this movie is just stunning.
The film centers around Dr. Parnassus and his troupe of travelling entertainers. Dr. Parnassus made a deal with the devil (or, more accurately, several wagers) in order to gain immortality, youth, and the ability to let people enter their own imaginations through a magic mirror. However, the catch is that any children he has are turned over to the Devil, or Mr. Nick as he is referred to, at he age of 16. When the film begins, Dr. Parnassus' lovely daughter Valentina (he calls her "Scrumpy" for some reason) is three days away from turning 16. Not wanting to give up his daughter, Parnassus makes another bet with the devil that he can get five souls before the devil can. He does this with his imagination mirror. Once inside people are shown their wildest dreams, there for the taking, but the Devil is also there and he will try to tempt them into selling their souls. This choice manifests itself in several ways throughotu the movie. To a rowdy drunk who accidentally wanders in, he is presented with a daunting mountain that will lead him to sobriety and a better life, as well as a humble tavern shaped like a derby. To a rich older woman The One-Nite Stand motel beckons to her across a bridge, while a gondola awaits below the bridge to take her to purity and eternal youth. Parnassus and his troupe (which consists of himself, his daughter, a young sleight-of-hand artist named Anton, and a little person named Percy who is also immortal) find a young man named Tony hanging below a bridge, saved by a metal pipe shoved in his mouth to prevent his throat from closing. He claims to have lost his memory and there are weird symbols etched into his forehead, which Parnassus take as a sign. They decide to let him stay with him and find him to be remarkably good at getting people to give them money. However, he also has a very shady past, that I am not going to give away. A love triangle develops between Tony, Valentina, and Anton, as Tony and Valentina fall for each other, and Anton, who has always loved Valentina, becomes increasingly mistrustful of Tony. Is he right to be suspicious? Watch the movie and find out.
As I said before, the visual effects in this film are amazing, each imagination is unique and yet breath-taking in its own way. Even the temple where Parnassus first meets Mr. Nick is just larger than life and looks incredible.
Another interesting thing about this movie is that Tony(Heath Ledger's character) and, to a lesser extent, the drunk guy I mentioned earlier, look different within the world of the imagination. This was actually done because of the unfortunate death of Ledger before all of his scenes could be films. However it actualyl works out really well. In the three different imaginations he enters Tony is portrayed by Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell. Even though he was only on screen for a few minutes, I really liked Johnny Depp's performance.
Well, I have run out of things to say that will not spoil the movie, so in closing I give this movie a 9 out of 10. It was very entertaining and very well made and I totally reccomend it.