Heath Ledger in The Imaginarium of Dr Parnussus (Lionsgate, 2009)

TERRY GILLIAM has always seemed a magnet for calamity. The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen was crippled by a soaraway budget. The Man Who Killed Don Quixote was abandoned after floods destroyed the set and the leading man fell ill.

His latest film, The Imaginarium Of Dr Parnassus, has been mired in tragedy, from the death of the producer to a car accident that left Gilliam with a broken back. It was also the film that Heath Ledger was making at the time of his death. It is a small miracle that it was ever completed.

The film is a typically extravagant, unruly Gilliam epic that almost plays like a compendium of his greatest hits. There are scenes and images that will be familiar to those who have seen Time Bandits, Brazil and Munchausen.

The overriding theme of saluting the power of the imagination to transform lives could be the philosophy on which Gilliam has built his entire career. If you are not a fan then this will not convert you, but if you have admired past flights of fancy then this is probably Gilliam’s best film in at least a decade.

Dr Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) is the weary head of a travelling magic show. Years ago he made a pact with the devil who has the right to claim the soul of his daughter Valentina (Lily Cole) when she reaches her sixteenth birthday.

The big day is imminent when a sporting Mr Nick (Tom Waits) offers a further wager: the first one to claim five souls wins Valentina. This is the moment they rescue disgraced charity boss Tony (Heath Ledger) from a London bridge where he has tried to hang himself. Tony might just prove indispensable when it comes to securing the five souls.

Dr Parnassus puts some wonderful visual flourishes at the service of a slight, rambling story. Gilliam does find an ingenious way of covering Ledger’s unfinished scenes as Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell all assume the role of Tony when we step through the Imaginarium looking glance into a series of separate adventures. It makes perfect sense that when the whole world changes Tony might look different as well.

Heath Ledger displays a winning way with the comic exuberance required of him, but the film’s star performance comes from Andrew Garfield as Anton, a loyal assistant who plunges from exhilaration to dejection as he harbours a secret love for Valentina. It is a performance that confirms Garfield as one of Britain’s most promising youngsters and one of the best reasons for watching The Imaginarium Of Dr Parnassus.

Nationwide release

Director: Terry Gilliam
Vocal cast: Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Lily Cole, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell, Andrew Garfield
Screenwriters: Terry Gilliam, Charles McKeown
Certificate: 12A
Running time: 123 mins
Country: UK/France/Canada
Year: 2009

© Allan Hunter, 2009

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