An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
2012
Theatre
The show has suddenly become quite wonderful, and the galvanising factor is the terrific stage debut of Melanie C
Blood Brothers
Music
The British pop music industry may be eating itself but if Muse are the pick of what it can offer the world in 2010 then British music is in rude health indeed
Muse
I was smitten by both Gilberts enormous luxuriant moustache and the intelligence and nuance of this highly entertaining play
I totally recommend Babbo to anyone who is looking for really good and traditional Italian food
Always been a fan but never seen them live. I was ecstatic to be part of this epic event. WOW!
London,
Nick Curtis's rating
Reader rating
Final act: Heath Ledger as the myserious Tony with Lily Cole as Der Panassus’s daughter Valentina in the film
Terry Gilliam’s latest film is a triumph. That Dr Parnassus was finished at all following the death mid-shoot of its star Heath Ledger is impressive. That it hangs together as a striking work of fantasy is truly remarkable.
We are in familiar, fairytale Gilliam territory where imagination wars against dull reality, and innocence vies with evil, in a warped version of contemporary London.
The rackety travelling theatre of Dr P (Christopher Plummer) can transport people to their mind’s delight. But imagination takes energy, and many prefer the easy pleasures offered by devilish Mr Nick (Tom Waits). Worse, Dr P is to lose his own daughter Valentina (Lily Cole) to Mr Nick on her imminent 16th birthday after a failed wager.
When Dr P discovers Ledger’s mysterious Tony hanging, near dead and amnesiac, under Blackfriars Bridge, he enlists him as an ally. But is Tony hero or villain?
With odd synchronicity the three actors (Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell) who took over Ledger’s role for the fantasy sequences inside the Imaginarium, hint at darker sides to his personality. There are some dazzling visions here of giant stilt-walks and rivers that become rearing cobras, but the atmospheric scenes where Dr P’s caravan drags through derelict Battersea and menacing Clerkenwell work better.
Gallery: Dr Parnassus premiere
The rivalry between Parnassus and Mr Nick rambles on a bit, and the denouement involving Russian gangsters and children’s organs is awkward.
Perhaps understandably, this fantasy doesn’t have quite the coherence of Gilliam’s masterpiece Brazil. Plummer is a joy to watch, though, as a boozy and barely veiled directorial self-portrait. The sometime supermodel Cole, too, is surprisingly good, her weird prettiness and gamine sexuality recalling Uma Thurman’s debut in Gilliam’s Baron Munchausen. And Ledger?
His magnetic energy makes you rue again the loss of an actor it took three stars to replace. It also makes you glad Gilliam had the tenacity and (yes) imagination to complete his film.
The Imaginarium Of Dr Parnassus opens on Friday 16 October.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
Afternoon:
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