Thursday, Aug 21, 2008
This adaptation of the popular children's book series gets so much right. So why does it feel so wrong?
Dec 17, 2004 | Most people who love to read hate to see Hollywood get ahold of their favorite books. But even more heartbreaking than a movie that gets a book completely wrong is one in which every detail, from the costumes to the faces of the actors to the production design to the spirit of the dialogue, is calibrated with exceptional thought and care to capture the essence of a book -- and is still mysteriously, inexplicably dull.
"Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," based on the enormously popular series of children's books in which some very bad things happen to three very appealing orphans, is that sort of movie: As it ticks by, laboriously, it leaves you feeling that you should be enjoying it more than you are.
There's so much right with "A Series of Unfortunate Events" that it's hard to believe it goes so wrong. The story is narrated by a mysterious gentleman, seen only in murky shadows as he taps away at the keys of an old manual typewriter; he goes by the name of Lemony Snicket. (In real life, a boring construct with which we won't concern ourselves now, Lemony Snicket is the pseudonym of novelist Daniel Handler; in the movie, Lemony Snicket is played by Jude Law, and his crisp enunciation perfectly suits the sorrowful Victorian undertones of Handler's pleasurably grim work.)
Lemony Snicket is here to tell us the story of the Baudelaire children -- three "clever and reasonably attractive orphans" -- who embark on a shaky adventure after their home burns down, killing their parents. Violet (Emily Browning), at 14, is the eldest: She's a serious-minded girl with a knack for inventing things. Klaus (Liam Aiken), the middle child, is a brainy book-lover who retains every word he's ever read. And Sunny, barely more than an infant (she toddles about swathed in velvet Victoriana), has the unique distinction of being very good at biting things -- sometimes right through things.
"Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events"
Directed by Brad Silberling
Starring Jim Carrey, Jude Law, Meryl Streep
The Baudelaire siblings are deposited with the closest living relative, in this case the wiry, conniving Count Olaf (Jim Carrey), who lives in a dark, craggy house that's a far cry from the cozy mansion the children are used to. Count Olaf wants nothing to do with the children -- he makes them sleep in a cold, tiny room, and assigns them a double-digit list of onerous chores every day -- but he's very interested in the fortune that their parents have left them. So to get his hands on it, he comes up with one outlandish scheme after another, and the Baudelaire orphans, by their wit, their cleverness, and sometimes just their skill at biting, outwit him each time.
But this is, as Lemony Snicket repeatedly reminds us, not a happy tale: "This is an excellent opportunity to leave the theater, living room or airplane where this film is being shown," he warns at one point. The horrible mishaps that befall the Baudelaire orphans are what give the Lemony Snicket books their distinctively smart, dour character. (The 11th installment was published in September; the series, when completed, will comprise 13 books total.)
Set in an era that's not quite Victorian and not quite modern, these are darkly funny versions of 19th century kids books in which punishments and tragedies were vividly outlined for the sole purpose of scaring the bejesus out of impressionable little minds. The Lemony Snicket books have a wry, Edward Gorey-style elegance, and kids love them -- stylistically, they're the missing link between jet mourning jewelry and glitter glue.
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