The Curious Case of the Cancelled Ledger
How far the one-eyed squint of journalism has seized the perspective in almost every public conversation became clear when you read reviews of “The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus”. Even serious critics treated the death of Heath Ledger as if it was the story of “The Imaginarium”, rather than a story that was incidental to the film. For there is only one way that Ledger’s unexpected and – perhaps – unscripted departure from the stage could be the story, and that’s in a way that none of the critics or commentators have suggested. “The Imaginarium” is a work of genius, I think, which confirms Terry Gilliam as one of the very few directors working in and out of Britain who makes films for the big screen, rather than pumping up television dramas for a brief excursion into cinemas before they subside more comfortably onto TV and DVD. Dr Parnassus runs a travelling theatre – a sort of superannuated Foots Barn – the centrepiece of which is a mirror. When individuals pass through its pane, their...