Review of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) by Dawdlingpoet — 20 Nov 2021

This is a very quirky and vivid comedy/fantasy film. The adult characters are quite exaggerated, in terms of their facial expressions, their demeanour, body language and so on.

It is quite creepy in nature, so although it only carries a PG rating, it may seem slightly scary for especially young viewers. The plot is quite creepy for one thing, with the children continually running in to the dastardly, villainous uncle Olaf, them continually warning people to be wary of his identity but not listened to and so on. There is mention of a suicide note and many scenes are in (lighting wise) quite dark or stormy surroundings, so, while this is marketed as a family film and doesn't feature any explicit language or graphic violence, I would certainly exercise caution before showing it to younger children. I felt it was quite an immersive film, in as much as the cinematography was very impressive and the mix of the visual effects (with depictions of dingy, cold, creepy caves and large, domineering and old houses) and the instrumental musical score/soundtrack really added to the atmosphere. I felt it was perhaps a bit like a childs fairy tale only perhaps a bit more dark and (obviously) having been brought to life on TV/DVD. There is an element of poignancy to it - particularly in the ending. I should add that there is a narrator present, although his dialogue is sparse and only heard a few times but yet he is crucial, in that he introduces the viewer to the characters (the children) explaining the background to the plot and so on. The narrator appears on screen but only ever as a shadow or silhouette, so we can't put a face to him. I suppose you could say thats a theme throughout, identifying who people really are, who are the ones that (attempt to) shape their future and the consequences of such.

Cast wise, the villain (uncle Olaf) is played by Jim Carrey, giving one of his usual rubbery-faced style comic performances as an evil selfish plot-doer - think along the lines of The Grinch, in which he also played the lead role. Also present is Timothy Spall, who plays the more caring Mr. Poe, while Billy Connolly plays Uncle Monty. I feel like Connolly and Carrey would (potentially) make a good double act but thats just a random thought. Meryl Streep plays one of the childrens guardians, aunt Josephine, who has a peculiar set of fears - seeming quite regal and intellectual, while also clearly troubled.

I won't spoil the ending by saying what happens but I did feel that one or two quite nice points were made via the narrator towards the end. I wouldn't say its by any means sickly sweet - infact at the very start of the film, the narrator warns that this is no 'happy little elf' cartoon film, so count yourself warned. However, content wise, as mentioned earlier, there is no graphic violence or other explicit content, so while its quite spooky and perhaps unsettling, it doesn't have a minimum age rating (being rated PG).

Yes I'd recommend this film, as I found it to be quite immersive, with good, slightly creepy cinemtaography, some poignancy, interesting characters and a curious plot. Its perhaps not entirely original but its certainly an entertaining watch and one that is suitable for most of the family.