Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Brad Silberling

Writers (WGA):

Daniel Handler (books)
Robert Gordon (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 December 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

On December 17, Christmas cheer takes a holiday.

Plot:

Three wealthy children's parents are killed in a fire. When they are sent to a distant relative, they find out that he is plotting to kill them and seize their fortune.

Plot Keywords:

Count | Orphan | Inheritance | Fire | Herpetologist

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 6 wins & 21 nominations

Cast

Jim Carrey	...	Count Olaf
Liam Aiken	...	Klaus
Emily Browning	...	Violet
Kara Hoffman	...	Sunny
Shelby Hoffman	...	Sunny
Jude Law	...	Lemony Snicket (voice)
Timothy Spall	...	Mr. Poe
Catherine O'Hara	...	Justice Strauss
Billy Connolly	...	Uncle Monty
Meryl Streep	...	Aunt Josephine
Luis Guzmán	...	Bald Man
Jamie Harris	...	Fernald - Hook-Handed Man
Craig Ferguson	...	Person of Indeterminate Gender
Jennifer Coolidge	...	White Faced Woman
Jane Adams	...	White Faced Woman

Also Known As:

A Series of Unfortunate Events (USA) (original script title)
Lemony Snicket (USA) (working title)
Lemony Snicket - Rätselhafte Ereignisse (Germany)
Una serie de eventos desafortunados (Chile) (Venezuela) [es]
Лемони Сникет: 33 несчастья (Russia) [ru]
Desventuras em Série (Brazil) [pt]
Lemony Snicket - Mia seira apo atyhi gegonota (Greece) [el]
Lemony Snicket - Niz nesretnih dogadaja (Croatia) [hr]
Lemony Snicket - Rätselhafte Ereignisse (Austria) [de]
Lemony Snicket - Una serie di sfortunati eventi (Italy) [it]
Lemony Snicket, una serie de eventos desafortunados (Argentina) [es]
Lemony Snicket: Ellendige avonturen (Netherlands) [nl]
Lemony Snicketi sari õnnetuid lugusid (Estonia) [et]
Lemony Snicketin surkeiden sattumuksien sarja (Finland) [fi]
Lemony Snickets - Én ulykke kommer sjældent alene (Denmark) [da]
Lemony Snickets berättelser om syskonen Baudelaires olycksaliga liv (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Lemony Snickets berättelser om syskonen Baudelairs olycksaliga liv (Sweden) [sv]
Les désastreuses aventures des orphelins Baudelaire (France) [fr]
Les désastreuses aventures des orphelins Baudelaire d'après Lemony Snicket (Canada: French title) [fr]
Serija nesrecnih dogadjaja Lemonija Sniketa (Serbia) [sr]
Syskonen Baudelairs olycksaliga liv (Sweden) [sv]
Talihsiz serüvenler dizisi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Un seguit de desgràcies catastròfiques de Lemony Snicket (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Una serie de catastróficas desdichas de Lemony Snicket (Spain) [es]
Una serie de infortunados eventos. Lemony Snicket (Chile) [es]

MPAA:

Rated PG for thematic elements, scary situations and brief language.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Taiwan:PG-12 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | France:U | Iceland:L | Iceland:LH (video rating) | Malaysia:U | South Korea:All | Brazil:10 | Sweden:7 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-11 | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:PG | Netherlands:MG6 | Philippines:G | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Downey Studios - 12214 Lakewood Boulevard, Downey, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

In the stairwell where we first meet Count Olaf, there is a portrait of Olaf in Shakespearian garb, reaching out with his hand. This is almost an exact duplicate of a picture of John Barrymore playing "Hamlet".

Goofs:

Plot holes: Early in the movie, Lemony Snicket says that he and his team only know that the fire was started from afar. At the end of the movie, he knows exactly what happened.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Lemony Snicket: [the Littlest Elf has just come to an abrupt halt] I'm sorry to say that this is not the movie you will be watching. The movie you are about to see is extremely unpleasant. If you wish to see a film about a happy little elf, I'm sure there is still plenty of seating in theatre number two. However, if you like stories about clever and reasonably attractive orphans...

Movie Connections:

References The Princess Bride (1987)

Soundtrack:

Loverly Spring

Quality movie, unless you're a die-hard fan of the books

I first heard of these books when I saw my younger brother reading them. I got curious and when I saw they were making a movie was sure to read the first three before seeing it. Right off the bat, I can tell you that if you are a completely possessive fan of these books you might be rather disappointed by this movie. The movie condenses books "The Bad Beginning," "The Reptile Room," and "The Wide Window" by slicing the first book in half and placing the other two inside of it, like a sandwich. Of course in order for this to be possible the story has to change to make it work, so some elements are not factual. Combine this with Snicket's usually clever details in the book having to be cut down and very loyal fans are going to be disappointed. The movie also adds in a subplot that the first three books do not possess, but that the later ones (according to my brother) do, so I was a bit bothered by having that element ruined if i choose to read more of the series.

I, however, understand the difference between books and movies, and think that on the whole they succeeded in keeping the tone and uniqueness of this series. Carrey as Olaf is wonderful and adds something to a character that seems to be rather dry in the books and the children are believable and easy to sympathize with. While humor was scarce, the tone of the books is more clever than humorous anyway.

Overall my only issues are plot-wise and how this creates a choppy feel to the film, but I don't know of a way it could have been done better. The movie was well done with(as many are saying) excellent scenery, costumes, etc., yet nothing made this film completely amazing. It is however, worth the time and money and one should definitely read the books.