There's no way of knowing exactly how "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" is going to go over tomorrow night here in Cannes, on any level. This is a movie that's been famous practically since birth, a little indie thrust into the spotlight when Heath Ledger died right in the middle of shooting.

And like any baby born into fame, it's anyone's guess how people will react when said baby actually tries to do something more serious (in this case, be judged artistically as a film and break Terry Gilliam's streak of misses that stretches back more than a decade).

On the one hand it's going to have the energy of its stars like Johnny Depp and the heart-tug of seeing Ledger's name and face in a place he'd never been as actor but surely wanted to go.

On the other hand, it's contending with a sparser and more fatigued Cannes audience at this late stage, along with what has been at best mixed advance word on the quality of the film (which has basically held that the visuals are a lot better than the storytelling). This premiere has more plotlnes than a Russian novel — a star-driven movie in a fest devoid of them, a heartbreaking story about the work of a posthumous actor that may not resonate because it already played out at the Oscars, a U.S.-sales bid that didn't work out prior to the festival but will be attempted again here on the Croisette.

Let's just hope those aren't the most interesting storylines associated with the film.