In many ways the new movie "A Series of Unfortunate Events" might be the most successful screen adaptation of a children's book that I've ever seen. However, I know that many of you who are familiar with the books that this movie is based on will quibble with me about the details -- this movie doesn't follow the books line by line -- but the details are what makes this work so well. The Harry Potter movies, in my mind, failed because of their over-reliance on the books. Even the Lord of the Rings trilogy fell into that problem, to a certain extent. When you have a good thing -- and the Lemony Snicket books are a good thing -- change for change's sake is a bad thing, but I think the movie had a more cohesive feel because of some of the changes incorporated into this script.
Backing up the excellent story was the remarkable work by the set designers and costume stylists. The whole production was really amazing. The director, Brad Silberling, should get a lot of credit for channeling just the right amount of Tim Burton. Trust me, too much Tim Burton channeling is a bad thing.
A point of concern being made on the Internet with regard to this movie centers around the casting of Jim Carrey as Count Olaf. Now, I am just about the furthest you can get from being a fan of Jim Carrey the comedian. "Dumb and Dumber," hated it. "Ace Ventura," not my thing. "The Mask," no thank you. And I don't want to mislead you, he does ham it up in "A Series of Unfortunate Events." But the truth is, you won't care. He's over-the-top, but so is Count Olaf. Maybe he could have taken it down a notch, maybe not, but the kids are the stars of this movie, not Jim Carrey.
Speaking of the kids, they did a wonderful job. They hit their marks with just the right amount of frustration and gumption. And the supporting cast -- from Jude Law to Billy Connolly to Cedric the Entertainer -- were spot-on perfect.
You will not be disappointed with this film.
(Also, when you go see the movie, make sure you stay for the credits.)
Posted by david at December 19, 2004 11:12 AM