"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" cast delivers great story

"Nothing is permanent, not even death." That seems to be the thought that is flowing through everyone's head who sees The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. This is the last film project starring the late Heath Ledger. The film is directed by Terry Gilliam and also stars Christopher Plummer, Vern Troyer, Tom Waite and newcomers Andrew Garfield and Lily Cole. The film is about a traveling troupe lead by Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer), who has the power to expand your imagination. In the film, Doctor Parnassus has made deals with the Devil (Tom Waite) to give him eternal life and a wife. During the film, the Devil comes to collect, in other words, he is going to own the soul of Parnassus's daughter (Lily Cole). Instead of collecting, the Devil makes a final wager: the first to get five souls before Parnassus's daughter's birthday, wins. It becomes a race to the end to save his daughter's soul. On their way, they save the life of a man hanging from a bridge named Tony (Heath Ledger). He becomes a valuable asset, but it becomes clear that Tony has his own plan and own agenda. The actors are incredible in this piece. Christopher Plummer gives a wonderfully eccentric performance, which happens to be completely different than anything we've seen from him. He gives Parnassus humanity, but also a bit of extraordinary elements along with a tad bit of gravitas. Tom Waite is brilliant as the devil, making him a heavy hitter in the cast. Newcomers, Garfield and Cole give very good performances for their first real movie. Cole not only shows off her beauty, but gives Parnassus's daughter a sense of realism and grounded understanding in this crazy situation they are living in. Garfield begins as a real decent guy, but then jealousy rises up and he shows his true colors, he plays it so wonderfully. Vern Troyer shows a wonderful new side of himself that is a real departure from his role in Austin Powers. In this film, he shows a grounded aspect as well as gravitas to his personality.

Of course, most of the people who go to see this film are looking at one person: Heath Ledger. Ledger gives a real dynamite performance as he shows his energy and commitment to his craft, but also a very vulnerable part of his personality, which further makes it hard to watch as his character shows his true colors. Of course, he died during the filming, which leads me to Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell's performances, which are right on the same level. These three actors not only deferred their paychecks to Heath's daughter but were able step in without any preparation and complete the film to give Tony a full performance. Depp, Law and Farrell give Tony a brilliant arch in terms of the twists and turns, and they make you believe that this was all intended, that they were supposed to be in this film to begin with

Terry Gilliam is right on his usual target. He has been known for really imaginative films like Brazil, The Fisher King, Time Bandits, 12 Monkeys and The Brothers Grimm. In this film, he goes back to what made him a wonderful filmmaker to begin with and shows all his visual wonders again. He gives us a truly awe-inspiring experience to go through for the two hours that you spend in the theater. Every shot doesn't look the same, but they all work together so beautifully.

The film is incredibly visual, which for anyone who has seen a Gilliam film is how it should be. Gilliam has created a magnificent adventure into the imagination with humor, darkness and sadness. It's not the film that you'd imagine for Ledger's last, but it's a wonderful film to remember how talented he was and what he left behind as his legacy.