Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
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Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (more)
Directed by:
Brad SilberlingScreenplay:
Robert GordonCinematography:
Emmanuel LubezkiComposer:
Thomas NewmanCast:
Jim Carrey, Liam Aiken, Emily Browning, Kara Hoffman, Shelby Hoffman, Jude Law, Timothy Spall, Catherine O'Hara, Billy Connolly, Meryl Streep, Luis Guzmán (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
After Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire's parents perish in a terrible fire, they are placed in the care of their uncle, Count Olaf (Jim Carrey), an evil fiend who is plotting to kill them and seize their fortune. The orphans travel from guardian to guardian, including herpetologist Montgomery Montgomery (Billy Connolly) and grammar-wise Aunt Josephine Anwhistle (Streep), but the worst guardian of all is Count Olaf. Plotting to steal the childrenís fortune, Olaf disguises himself as his assistant Stephano and ship captain Julio Sham and keeps popping up in the strangest places. Just when the Baudelaires think things are getting better, something unfortunate happens! (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (10)
I have not read the book and honestly, I do not even want to familiarize myself with it after watching Silberling's film. The film had an exclusive cast with a whole pleiad of well-known Hollywood names. It also had a magnificent production with a variety of special effects and a scene that indicates that the crew did not have to make any compromises regarding the budget. However, from my point of view, the result is very poor and my one star is only for the set design, which sometimes does its own thing regardless of the plot. The Victorian gloom of the film sets and costumes is more effective than the grimaces of the main villain played by Jim Carrey. I have no problem with his performance, he is simply an actor who adapts to the requirements of the script and the director, but the level of stylized exaggeration was dysfunctional and unbearable for me. Even a three-year-old child would realize in his uncle Olaf's disgusting grimace and vocabulary after three-tenths of a second that something is not right, and here all the adults pretend to believe even his least probable charity. It's simply too overexposed and for me, it would work if at least half of the actor's performance was toned down. I haven't even mentioned ingredients such as the youngest member of the Baudelaire family, that typical American innocent angel type, who already disgusts me with the first smile and whom I would dispatch without hesitation. Overall impression: 25%.
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This is great. Jim Carrey is really good here. You don't often see a prince like this Count Olaf. I mean, it is not seen especially today - in the (not only) crazy comedies of the sixties, seventies and eighties we would certainly find a few "good guys" like him. Praise also goes to Brad Silberling, because the film is sensational, it doesn't get boring and looks perfect, the performances of all three children were also magical, Meryl Strep did not disappoint either.... Oh, and Dustin Hoffman's barking was such a treat. Four and a bit, I laughed from start to finish.
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If the story were overall a bit more polished and didn't have an ending that unnecessarily tries for emotions that simply aren't there, it would be an incredibly good film. It has its poetry, its charm, and it's incredibly entertaining, thanks in part to Carrey, who showcases himself as a great chameleon, but that's also well-known about him. It’s pleasant, but it's missing a little something extra to make it perfect.
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I read the book, but it was a really long time ago and I didn't realize its connection to this film until it was in progress. Lemony Snicket noticeably tries to adapt the book as faithfully as possible, which is certainly not a bad thing. What’s important is that Brad Siberling has conceived a very simple story about a cunning bastard as a fresh, entertaining and all-around fairy-tale spectacle that fulfils everything I would expect from a purely children's film. First of all, the sensibly chosen runtime (the film is only 92 minutes long!) is worth praise, as well as the beautiful make-up and costumes and, of course, the actors, led by a made-up Jim Carrey and an anxious Meryl Streep. As a small child I would certainly have jumped in joy, now I just hummed along contentedly...
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It started quite subtly, and at first, I thought that this kind of film was not for me... but after quite a big delay I took the test and it turned out very well. I fell in love with the entire world of Lemony Snicket, and I spent the second half of last year hunting down the entire "Unfortunate Events" book series. While reading the first four books, I watched the movie to review over and over again so as to make my experience comprehensive... :) I'm now on the tenth volume and they’re getting bigger, so the last four books will be the same as the first eight. I'm both impatient and excited for each new page and only regret that there won't be more films. Or that the authors didn't opt for an adaptation made for TV and then for DVD. I mean, Esmé would have to be something irresistible, with her love for everything that happens to by flying. :) Or the triplets and other spicy stuff that didn't fit in the film. This way, it seems like the orphans from the series are just suffering under more and more guardians, but readers know that this is just the beginning. Jim Carrey was a good Count Olaf, but not unattainable, or he would have had to force them to make a sequel. I don't fault the film at all because the concept of combining the first three short books and then combining them into one general narrative is a good one. This would also work very well with other Baudelaire adventures. "The Miserable Mill" could have been shortened like the stay at Uncle Monty's, the Prufrock Preparatory School could have gone to great lengths to bring the triplets onto the scene, and then the endless shots in the elevator shaft... It would be nice, even the binoculars would fit in there for better order. Essentially, it’s too bad that Auntie Jo wasn't cast with someone younger and that there wasn't even a brief visit to the movie theater after a whole day at the terrarium. It can't be helped. I've fallen for the series.
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Gallery (131)
Photo © Paramount Pictures / DreamWorks Distribution LLC
![Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events - Photos - Jennifer Coolidge, Catherine O'Hara, Jim Carrey](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/000/343/343182_908919.jpg)
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