As the film begins, a creepy looking travelling stage rolls up next to a nightclub. Strange sounding music plays and as the stage lowers, an actor wearing a mask beckons people to come and experience the Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus.

Unfortunately the crowd are drunk and start throwing bottles at them. One reveller climbs on stage and chases the young actress around the stage. They both enter a tacky looking mirror, but once inside it becomes apparent that this was some kind of portal to a world based on the imagination of the person who entered. Each person gets to choose, between seeking the right path or the wrong path. The wrong path leads to death.

Forced to move on by the local 'Filth', as they like to refer to them, they encounter a man hanging from the underside of a bridge and decide to help him. The man (played by the late Ledger, who sadly died during the filming of this movie) has no memory of his past life, or at least thats what he claims.

With his help, Parnassus and the travelling show may be able to win a wager that he the Doctor had made with the Devil, regarding his daughter which they are very close to losing. But everytime he goes through the mirror himself, Ledger's face seems to be one of the things that changes. Is he two faced?

To be sure, this is a very confusing film and not one I'd have gone to see were it not for my cinemacard and the fact that it is Ledger's last.

I'd like to say that there is some kind of obvious deeper significance to the film, but this is not something I can see at a first glance, at least. The thing I did like was how Ledgers role was finished off whilst also keeping the story seemingly logical. Every time he went through the mirror, one of the other A List celebs including Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell took over the role.

In fact, you could realistically think that this was the way it was originally written.

However fun the film was though, I left thinking just how weird of an experience it was. Perhaps this was the point. Perhaps not, either way, I doubt I'll be getting it on DVD.

see also:
The Pursuit of Happyness

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photo © Sony Pictures.