When it comes to cinema beverages, I have been shown the way, and that way is tea! No wait, not just tea. Tea through a straw! Trust me. Coke has been beaten down with ease and the sprite and fanta gods hang their heads in shame! I know it's radical, I know I'm breaking all the rules. But tea sucked through a straw to wash away the taste of M&Ms is the way forward.
So yesterday when Maria and I went to see Terry Gilliam's "Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus", we of course went to the cafe above the Cineworld to get our now customary cups of tea.
And imagine my disappointment when we are presented not with tea, but the components of tea. Just cups of boiling water filled to the very top, with two individually packaged tea bags, a huge jug of milk and some sugar sachets. Dammit man, I didn't ask for the separate ingredients of a brew, I asked for a brew!
We were forced to assemble our own drinks and pile up the detritus on the bare counter as we hadn't been given a dish or a bin in which to throw our tea bags and sugar wrappers. My British sensibilities had been offended by this desecration of the tea ritual. And conversely it was those same sensibilities that prevented me from complaining and pointing out the barrista's folly.
That was partly how I felt about Terry Gilliam's latest offering. It had many of the necessary components of a satisfying cinema experience, but they hadn't been quite assembled in the correct way. The story was simple and showed a battle between a wise man and the Devil as they warred for the souls of mortals who are forced to choose between darkness of Hell and the light of the Imagination. But despite the simplicity of the tale and decent performances from all, the film feels disjointed.
Much of this must be attributed to the sad passing of Heath Ledger whose sudden death disrupted the shooting of the film considerably. Gilliam dealt with this in a typically imaginative way by bringing in Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude law to play Ledger's role at various parts of the story. This works surprisingly well as the character of Tony is such an enigma and suffers from a serious identity crisis.
These actors make their appearances whenever Tony steps through the looking-glass and crosses over into the Imaginarium, a fantastical world held within the mind of the titular character. It's within this world that the film's main flaws come to light.
The Imaginarium itself is an interesting exploration of the human mind. A young boy with an a penchant for space invaders finds the Imaginarium is full of flying creatures that he can blast out of the sky with a wave of his hand. A violent drinker finds himself up to his waist in empty liquor bottles. These moments are interesting. But sadly, this exploration ended with the mind, and didn't extend to the heart. The characters remained underdeveloped and the most interesting moments are most often derived from the minor character of Anton, Parnassus's love sick assistant who feels unnoticed and unappreciated by Parnassus's daughter.
My other issue with the film comes from my usual gripe about excessive CGI. I was really excited for a moment when we are first introduced to the Imaginarium and the place seems to be made up of two-dimensional cardboard cut out trees! But this quickly dissolved into the usual mind blowing CG fare that although breathtaking on a level, feels shallow and flimsy. Compare this with the very real and gritty world of Brazil and Time Bandits, where colossal sets are used to create Gilliam's vision. If they can use wires to make Jonathan Price soar above a dystopian landscape on angellic wings, surely they can get Jude Law to climb a real ladder up into the clouds?
Still, better than Brothers Grimm. The tea sucked though.
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