After the untimely death of Heath Ledger, it would have been easy for Terry Gilliam to pack it in and chalk up his latest venture as another victim of his notorious bad timing and even worse luck. But instead, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus was completed, and for that we should all be grateful. Gilliam’s mischievous opus is easily one of the buzziest films at TIFF, partly because of Ledger’s death, and partly because of Gilliam’s ingenious movie-saving casting move. Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law all extend a hand by completing Ledger’s role and ensuring that the world gets to see their fallen friend’s curtain call.

Despite its tragic backstory, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is a triumph, acting simultaneously as an ode to a talent gone-too-soon, and a return to form for a legendary director. This is the first movie in which Gilliam–a giant imagination on two feet–uses CGI, and the results are as expected: inventive, nightmarish, surreal. Forget Tideland, forget Brothers Grimm. This is the Gilliam that made Time Bandits, Brazil, and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.

The film revolves around the titular Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer), a mysterious man who many centuries ago made a deal with the devil (Tom Waits in all his boozy glory) and has been engaged in a battle of wits with him ever since. In exchange for eternal life and an imaginarium that allows him to control the imaginations of  others, Parnassus must give  his daughter (the ethereal Lily Cole) to the devil on her sixteenth birthday. Flash forward to present-day London where Parnassus and a patchwork gang of outcasts run a travelling vaudevillian sideshow that is largely ignored by a boorish public. That is until the gang encounters Tony (Ledger), an ambitious, albeit shady entrepreneur who takes it upon himself to modernize Parnassus’ antiquated production.

What ensues is utter pandemonium, and it’s a delight to watch. Ledger’s performance is drizzled with leftovers from The Joker, and supermodel Lily Taylor is a revelation in her first major role. And although audiences won’t  be able to stop thinking about Ledger’s death throughout the film, especially when his replacements appear on screen, the other worldly nature of the story helps the physical transformation of Tony make sense. As much as the press surrounding Parnassus will be about Ledger, this is Gilliam’s film and fans of his will rejoice in what is surely his best film in years.

- Daniel Barna