The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus

Did I enjoy the film? In the end , yes. When I first started the Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus I didn't know what to make of it. Some of it seemed poorly done, it was episodic and sporadic and then, suddenly it got into its stride and took off. Some of it will be the fact that Keith Ledger met his untimely and sad end when the film was being made. Trying to pull the film together after that would have been extremely hard. I am glad they did and even though the actors who played Keith Ledger played their parts well, they were not Keith Ledger. He is remarkable in this role and it's clear when you see the other actors that Keith Ledger has a unique talent. he is not replaceable and the subtleties he can achieve are really very distinctive and his eyes are just so dark and clear. Mind you, if you are in someone's mind you would find it hard to come to terms with it at first and then you'd get used to it. A mind wouldn't be all neat and tidy, there would be bits which don't gel. There were some amazing graphics in the film and Christopher Plummer was very good in his role and thenTom Waits made a beautiful Devil. He was very meticulous in the delivery of his part and it really added to the film. There were some good support actors. Lily Cole isn't someone I appreciated because her face is too much like a porcelain doll, but that might be why she was chosen. She didn't appear quite real and she does look like a woman-girl which was part of the story. I didn't think she was that good, but it's a film I shall have to see again before I decide anything really. I am thinking I shall appreciate it more as I see it more but I don't actually like to rewatch films. This one I'll make an exception for because there is a lot in it and it draws on a wide literary and culture base. The Hanged Man Tarot card is not that of doom:

The Hanged Man has that precious gift - a cause in which he believes totally and for which he is willing to risk all, give all. This is a card of self-sacrifice for the good of others.

So it's a film where you need to do a semiotic study to get the best out of it and I am certain this film will be studied because it has a lot of depth and colour.