The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus

Imagine that you could plunge through a full-length mirror into the interior world of somebody else's mind.  This seems to be the idea behind Terry Gilliam's new film, but I could not be totally sure.  The plot is not self-evident, but the entire thing is entertaining and at times enthralling. 

Heath Ledger died before filming was completed, so the project went back into re-conceptualization and emerged in a form that could use the bits he had filmed.  They managed to work into the plot the idea that when Heath's character, Tony, plunges through the mirror, he sometimes ends up looking like --- well, Johnnie Depp, Jude Law, or Colin Farrell.  It's really not as confusing as it sounds, but perhaps that's because after a while you give up on trying to sort out the plot and just go with the moment.  Christopher Plummer is brilliant as the immortal Central Asian monk around whom the tale swirls.

I enjoyed seeing four of my favorite young actors cavorting in a richly imagined fantasy tale.  This one seems not to have captured the general imagination, since it is only playing in a few theaters.  I saw it at the Landmark on Houston Street, an early evening show.  The house was almost full, which was not bad for a Monday night at a theater most people would have to go far out of their way to get to, so maybe word of mouth is keeping it alive.  It is definitely worth seeing, and the beautiful photographic effects won't be half as enthralling on a small screen, so see it in a theater of you are interested.