It is impossible to talk of The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus without mentioning that this is Heath Ledger's last appearance. This, however, is somewhat of a shame. By this, I don't merely mean that the film would have benefited if Heath Ledger was able to finish the film, which it no doubt would have. I mean that the truly strong, memorable points of this film are overlooked by that assessment of this movie.

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The story revolves around Dr. Parnassus (Cristopher Plummer) – an aging sideshow owner, immortal after a deal with the Old Nick, the Devil, played by the brilliant Tom Waits. His daughter Val (Lily Cole), is tired of the life they lead, putting soul after soul to the test. An audience member steps through a mirror and is forced to make the choice between giving his soul to Parnassus or the Devil. Unbeknownst to most, however, Val's soul is forfeit on her 16^th birthday, as part of the deal Parnassus made. A new wager is forged, beginning a race for 5 souls, Val being the prize. This is when Tony (Heath Ledger) steps in, found hanging from a noose under the bridge. He begins his attempts to rescue the troupe, but his past is coming back to haunt him.

This description, however, is very basic, and the plot gets fairly complex. The intricacies of the Doctor's and Mr. Nick's deal are not the focus of the film; instead their relationship is. Tom Waits is rightfully best known as a musician, but has also had many roles as a character actor. It is nice to see a role where he can truly shine. It appears he is obsessed with gambling nearly as much as Parnassus is, and he, time after time, makes concessions to allow the Doctor to catch up. He is, after all, the Devil himself, and it seems Parnassus is the closest thing to a good opponent he has found, which is why he pesters him for competitions. This is the most interesting aspect of the movie to me.

Terry Gilliam's direction is, as usual, impeccable. What in the trailer seemed silly and cartoonish, on the big screen is awesome. The dream-like world that has been created is very Gilliam specific, as anyone who has seen Brazil, 12 Monkeys, or Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas will no doubt notice. All the same, however, it is not tired. And I must urge anyone who is in the least interested to see this film to get off their couches and go to the theater for it – I pity anyone who, for example, downloads it illegally off the internet; it would be hard to see this film without the awesome visual detail and design.

These are the strong points of the film. The rest... Well, I must admit that while Terry Gilliam did a fantastic job recovering from the loss of Heath Ledger one third way through the production, this did not save the picture entirely. His replacements in the various dream-land sequences (Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Collin Farrel) are all competent actors, but Ledger is sorely missed through the rest of the film. The ending, too, appears to be someone abrupt and unsatisfying to anyone who really gets into the story, but this is only a minor let-down after a thrilling ride through Gilliam's mind. While I am exposing these as let-downs, the fact of the matter remains that not much else could have been done without Heath Ledger, and I would much rather see this than nothing at all come out.

Overall, I found the film to be satisfying. While it was no masterpiece, it is worth going to see, if only for an interesting spectacle, and some fine acting.