"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus"
Today, I went to see a movie I've already seen once but wasn't able to properly appreciate because I expected it to be something different entirely.
Namely, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus".
Heath Ledger's last movie.
I have to say that having watched it again and now giving it some better thought and focusing a bit more on the things that I didn't understand the first time has really helped me to appreciate this movie. And, for sure, to be able to say that it has very high re-view quality.
First of all, I'd like to say that the first time I watched it, I didn't much care for it. But after seeing it again, I think that I was too quick to write it off. Yes, it does fundamentally seem to lack a plot and that might be the case. But it has far too many profound thoughts and ideas invested in it not to be regarded highly for them. Not only that, but there was some superb acting involved, some great character building on the screen writers' part and all of those and much more made for a rather intriguing movie experience.
Now, on to the stuff that I wanted to jot down as my thoughts on this movie before I forget.
Heath's Tony was an absolutely affable, lovable and incredible darling who had a bit too much he was hiding from those around him and had very little time to show what he was all about, but... For the time that he was on screen, he really lit every scene right up.
I noticed something rather interesting though. When Jude (Law) was playing Imaginarium Tony, he had the way Heath talks down pat--his voice even sounded very much like Heath's when he's upbeat and perky. I found that really intriguing and endearing, especially when thinking that Jude Law purposefully meant to sound more like Heath, having been his friend and now being given the task of carrying out his last role and all. But he didn't do as well with the facial expressions and the mannerisms, methinks. Colin Farrell, on the other hand, had the mannerisms, gestures and facial expressions perfectly--he was the perfect impersonation of Heath body language-wise. However he was lacking in the talking department. He didn't sound much like the Tony that Heath had portrayed at all--there were some tangible discrepancies.
And Johnny? Now, Johnny Depp is a wholly different thing on his own. He is the one that even in a normal situation, without any manipulations to his face looks most like Heath, his tone of voice is closest to his, the two have similar ways of building their characters on screen.... and yet Johnny's Tony was the one that I felt was furthest from Heath's Tony. Somehow, despite all their similarities, I guess Johnny Depp has just too strong a presence on screen; he domineers and takes over without even realizing it probably. And I think that Terry Gilliam might have noticed this fact, and for this reason given Johnny the shortest time in the Imaginarium?
Speaking of Johnny Depp's Tony, watching that scene where he's in the Imaginarium with that woman, when the portraits of Princess Diana, James Dean and I can't remember who else it was, I felt that they might have done that scene right after Heath's passing, and the whole exchange about the way that "those people are dead but thus immortal; they will never get tired, never get frail and old" and the whole profound talk was in some way the scriptwriters' way of addressing, and perhaps honouring, Heath's death? I don't know, I'm not entirely sure of that, but I think it would be nice if that be the case, so I'll keep thinking that way. :3
Me and my friend who went to watch the movie again together sat on the very second row from the screen and it was quite literally like being in the movie--really breathtaking. Especially during the scenes where you could see Heath's expression up close--it almost felt like if we reached out we'd be able to touch him. Even though that's obviously impossible for so many reasons, but the feeling was still there.
Also, what this person was saying in a blog post about how Heath's eyes seemed blue in this movie when he naturally has brown eyes? Searching for the pic above I found this here. It makes it pretty obvious that his eyes are indeed blue so I guess he did fancy some colour contact lenses for this role. Why that is, I cannot know but it's an interesting change. Dunno why he'd want that though--his own eyes are pretty enough and very expressive so why he'd need contact lenses for a part is beyond me...
I reckon that the plot of the movie got very changed once Heath died and I'm amazed at how well it turned out even after the lead was gone... but I'm really glad that Terry Gilliam found a way to make this work while keeping Heath's last days of work alive in his last movie--after all, he must've already felt really bad and tired all the time but he did such magnificent work when the cameras were rolling. I mean, you can't even tell by what he's showing in the movie that he didn't feel well at the time. And it comes back to me what he said in some interviews of his, that between the yelling of "Action!" and "Cut!" when he has to act and express himself via his acting, that is the time that matters most to him as an actor.
Yeah... I think this is all that I had to write down, so... If I remember anything else, I'll make sure to add.
But all in all, I just had to see one more time, before it stops circulating in the cinemas, Heath Ledger's last movie on big screen. It was an extraordinary film and if you haven't seen it, I think you should take the chance to do it while you can still watch it in the cinemas.
I hope that this movie wins the Oscar for the category it's been nominated for. I don't know why, but it would feel really nice to have Heath's last movie win some prize, even if it's not for anything he's contributed to it seeing as how he didn't get a chance to see it through to the end and give it his all like he definitely would have if he'd only lived longer...
Again, go see "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus". It's likely not like anything you've ever seen. :D
EDIT: I had myself a bit more informed on things. Turns out that Terry Gilliam was indeed a great friend of Heath's and he appreciated him even more than I believed. He allowed a lot of ad-libbing on Heath's part for this movie (makes me that much more curious to find out which parts he came up with on his own) and when he was gone, the director worked tirelessly on a way to make things work and to keep all the scenes that he'd already shot with Mr. Ledger intact while making it possible to finish the movie. Also, Gilliam did purposefully choose more than one person to finish the role, because he reckoned "it would be disrespectful to choose just one actor to finish the part" - those are the man's own words.
I have a newfound respect for the man and am very grateful for his and his crew's diligent work that made this movie possible the way it now is.
Namely, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus".
Heath Ledger's last movie.
I have to say that having watched it again and now giving it some better thought and focusing a bit more on the things that I didn't understand the first time has really helped me to appreciate this movie. And, for sure, to be able to say that it has very high re-view quality.
First of all, I'd like to say that the first time I watched it, I didn't much care for it. But after seeing it again, I think that I was too quick to write it off. Yes, it does fundamentally seem to lack a plot and that might be the case. But it has far too many profound thoughts and ideas invested in it not to be regarded highly for them. Not only that, but there was some superb acting involved, some great character building on the screen writers' part and all of those and much more made for a rather intriguing movie experience.
Now, on to the stuff that I wanted to jot down as my thoughts on this movie before I forget.
Heath's Tony was an absolutely affable, lovable and incredible darling who had a bit too much he was hiding from those around him and had very little time to show what he was all about, but... For the time that he was on screen, he really lit every scene right up.
I noticed something rather interesting though. When Jude (Law) was playing Imaginarium Tony, he had the way Heath talks down pat--his voice even sounded very much like Heath's when he's upbeat and perky. I found that really intriguing and endearing, especially when thinking that Jude Law purposefully meant to sound more like Heath, having been his friend and now being given the task of carrying out his last role and all. But he didn't do as well with the facial expressions and the mannerisms, methinks. Colin Farrell, on the other hand, had the mannerisms, gestures and facial expressions perfectly--he was the perfect impersonation of Heath body language-wise. However he was lacking in the talking department. He didn't sound much like the Tony that Heath had portrayed at all--there were some tangible discrepancies.
And Johnny? Now, Johnny Depp is a wholly different thing on his own. He is the one that even in a normal situation, without any manipulations to his face looks most like Heath, his tone of voice is closest to his, the two have similar ways of building their characters on screen.... and yet Johnny's Tony was the one that I felt was furthest from Heath's Tony. Somehow, despite all their similarities, I guess Johnny Depp has just too strong a presence on screen; he domineers and takes over without even realizing it probably. And I think that Terry Gilliam might have noticed this fact, and for this reason given Johnny the shortest time in the Imaginarium?
Speaking of Johnny Depp's Tony, watching that scene where he's in the Imaginarium with that woman, when the portraits of Princess Diana, James Dean and I can't remember who else it was, I felt that they might have done that scene right after Heath's passing, and the whole exchange about the way that "those people are dead but thus immortal; they will never get tired, never get frail and old" and the whole profound talk was in some way the scriptwriters' way of addressing, and perhaps honouring, Heath's death? I don't know, I'm not entirely sure of that, but I think it would be nice if that be the case, so I'll keep thinking that way. :3
Me and my friend who went to watch the movie again together sat on the very second row from the screen and it was quite literally like being in the movie--really breathtaking. Especially during the scenes where you could see Heath's expression up close--it almost felt like if we reached out we'd be able to touch him. Even though that's obviously impossible for so many reasons, but the feeling was still there.
Also, what this person was saying in a blog post about how Heath's eyes seemed blue in this movie when he naturally has brown eyes? Searching for the pic above I found this here. It makes it pretty obvious that his eyes are indeed blue so I guess he did fancy some colour contact lenses for this role. Why that is, I cannot know but it's an interesting change. Dunno why he'd want that though--his own eyes are pretty enough and very expressive so why he'd need contact lenses for a part is beyond me...
I reckon that the plot of the movie got very changed once Heath died and I'm amazed at how well it turned out even after the lead was gone... but I'm really glad that Terry Gilliam found a way to make this work while keeping Heath's last days of work alive in his last movie--after all, he must've already felt really bad and tired all the time but he did such magnificent work when the cameras were rolling. I mean, you can't even tell by what he's showing in the movie that he didn't feel well at the time. And it comes back to me what he said in some interviews of his, that between the yelling of "Action!" and "Cut!" when he has to act and express himself via his acting, that is the time that matters most to him as an actor.
Yeah... I think this is all that I had to write down, so... If I remember anything else, I'll make sure to add.
But all in all, I just had to see one more time, before it stops circulating in the cinemas, Heath Ledger's last movie on big screen. It was an extraordinary film and if you haven't seen it, I think you should take the chance to do it while you can still watch it in the cinemas.
I hope that this movie wins the Oscar for the category it's been nominated for. I don't know why, but it would feel really nice to have Heath's last movie win some prize, even if it's not for anything he's contributed to it seeing as how he didn't get a chance to see it through to the end and give it his all like he definitely would have if he'd only lived longer...
Again, go see "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus". It's likely not like anything you've ever seen. :D
EDIT: I had myself a bit more informed on things. Turns out that Terry Gilliam was indeed a great friend of Heath's and he appreciated him even more than I believed. He allowed a lot of ad-libbing on Heath's part for this movie (makes me that much more curious to find out which parts he came up with on his own) and when he was gone, the director worked tirelessly on a way to make things work and to keep all the scenes that he'd already shot with Mr. Ledger intact while making it possible to finish the movie. Also, Gilliam did purposefully choose more than one person to finish the role, because he reckoned "it would be disrespectful to choose just one actor to finish the part" - those are the man's own words.
I have a newfound respect for the man and am very grateful for his and his crew's diligent work that made this movie possible the way it now is.