Enter the Imaginarium

From the moment I saw the dual-font used in the introduction – a cursive script reflected by an upside-down modern sans serif glued precisely at the bottom – I knew this was a movie I was going to enjoy to the brim.

This is no airy-fairy take on fantasy, The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus is darkly magical. This is grimy London, creaking caravan, old-fashion robes and the age-old battle between good and evil. Only, the battle is actually within oneself: the battle of making the right choice between two options.

Although I thought this to be a brilliant story, I can’t quite figure out the ending when doll-faced Scrumpy chose to go through that mirror. I don’t understand the meaning of the choices in this scene. Unless, they represented Scrumpy’s interest versus someone else’s.

I also thought that changing the appearance of a character each time he enters the Imaginarium was a smart representation of his two-faced personality (it’s more than two, but well, an expression is an expression).

Another interesting point to note is the irony in that immortality fans the fragility of the human being. Don’t we usually associate fragility with mortality? Of course the fragility here in the movie is one of spiritual weakness rather than physical.

I’ll leave my sentiments at this junction, not cruel enough to burst anyone’s curiosity bubble with anymore pseudo-spoilers. What I can say is…if you’re looking forward to Alice in Wonderland, I believe this is a good one to ease the wait.

Johnny Depp’s performance was lovely, as always. Let’s not forget Heath Ledger too, whose brilliant acting will be missed.

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~ by Liz Lee on January 10, 2010.