The weekly red envelope delivered unto me this little film, which is five years old already. Where did the time go? I can remember seeing a preview for this film in the movie theater, most likely attached to a Harry Potter film or similar movie fare, and now it's five years later, and I'm just getting to it. I digress. I think Lemony Snicket was originally part of a triplet of fantasy films on the queue, sandwiched by Bridge to Terebithia and Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, which I've already reviewed. I was interested in this film for two reasons: Jim Carrey and Meryl Streep. I love them both and am always willing to give movies with these actors a chance, even if they don't turn out so good (which means I will even consent to watch Mamma Mia...shudder). I've never read a single Lemony Snicket book and had no idea what to expect, aside from Mr. Carrey's usual brand of physical comedy shenanigans. So, I was kind of looking forward to this one, because it contained some potentially entertaining ingredients.
Before I get too underway with this entry, I just wanted to mention that the menu for the DVD of this film is fantastic. Seriously, it was worth the rental just to play around with the menu, regardless of what I may say about the film. I like DVD menus, and sometimes, the menus alone can make me the most excited for a film. My favorite DVD menu of all time belongs to Finding Nemo - if you let it play for a while, you can hear a variety of witty exchanges between Marlin and Dory that are roll-on-the-ground funny. End digression (again).
Lemony Snicket's film unfolds with a song and a dance by a happy little elf. And, Mr. Snicket purports that, perhaps, you were expecting children's stories about singing and dancing happy little elves. Well, Mr. Snicket has other, more unfortunate tales to tell, and he wants you to know it and remember it as quick as you can. Voiced by Jude Law, Mr. Snicket tells the tale of the three Baudelaire children, and their most unfortunate situation. Violet (Emily Browning) is a resourceful inventor; her hair in a ribbon tells us her mind's wheels are turning, and she can think up gadgets on the spot. Klaus (Liam Aiken) likes to read like it's going out of style, and he can remember everything he reads with photographic accuracy (I related him to the best, by the way). Baby Sunny likes to bite things, and she's got jaws of steel. The siblings live in harmony with their parents in their large and beautiful home, until one day, as they sit by the shores of some unknown lake, the local child protection advocate (Timothy Spall) informs them that their house burned to the ground in a fire started most likely by reflected sunlight, and that their parents burned with the fire. Devastated, the children are remanded to the custody of a "distant relative" identifying himself as Count Olaf (Carrey), an out-of-work actor familiar with the fortune in trust willed to the children and looking to capitalize on their misfortunes. Since these children are no slouches, they quickly deduce that Count Olaf wants them out of the picture, particularly when he stops his car for a "treat" for them that happens to be on top of some train tracks sporting an oncoming train. While the three ingenious children escape this peril, they are schlepped from guardian to guardian, including a kindly "uncle" played by Billy Connolly and a daft and wildly paranoid "aunt" played by Streep, as their steps and unfortunate bystanders' are dogged by the insidious Olaf. What's more, Klaus stumbles onto a mystery that seems to connect all of these unfortunate events. The children must prove their endangered states to oblivious adults and solve the mystery before Olaf's wily ways win in the end.
I must say, I enjoyed this movie overall. It had some weaknesses, some flaws, if you will, but all in all, I enjoyed these dark and macabre events. The film, in fact, inspires some interest on my part to read the books. What I found initially wonderful about the film was the impressive visualizations. True, Tim Burton's influence unmistakably underscored the Gothic and otherwordly art direction, cinematography, and costume design, but for the world of Lemony Snicket, it worked, "Tim Burton lite" though it was. This Burtonesque (ha!) tinge also effectively lifted the events out of normal time and space - they seemed to exist in real geographical locations familiar to us yet without name or identification and at times that seemed both old fashioned and modern. This surreal quality rendered the film more fantastic than its potentially dire and rooted-to-reality events might have otherwise.
I also enjoyed some of the witty dialogue. The subtitles to Baby Sunny's squawks and coos were, on average, hilarious and made me laugh out loud. Some of the wordplay engaged in by the characters, particularly Olaf and Aunt Josephine (Streep's character) were very clever, and I was left to wonder what reading the books would truly be like. Also, even though the events are dark and sinister and unfortunate, the sense of sardonic whimsy underlying the snappy talk levied the mood somewhat.
As to the performances, I have to commend the ensemble, but Streep was the best. Her paranoid and hyper Josephine was a hoot and an absolute joy to watch. Seriously, that woman can play anything and make it riveting! Carrey was funny; his Olaf was surprisingly subdued (since I was expecting recycled versions of The Mask or Ace Ventura), though occasionally awkward. There was no question that Olaf was no good, but it sometimes felt as if Carrey were playing the character for a good-natured clown rather than a sinister, moustache-twirling, plotting actor, which made his character more annoying (for lack of a better word) than it had to be. He was probably directed to perform this way in order to allow the film to remain somewhat kid-friendly, rather than to allow it to become too scary or disturbing for children.
And that's where the film suffers its first drawback: the events are scary and sad and probably too much so for children. While some of the events borrow heavily from previous stories, including Labyrinth and Home Alone for starters, they lack the truly fantastic qualities, such as imaginary worlds or characters (macabre and sinister though they might be) that serve to ease children's minds and hearts. I wouldn't allow a child less than ten years old to watch this film because most of the humor would probably glide over their heads, and the visual images would probably disturb them too much.
The second drawback comes from what I can only guess results from adapting a narrative story to film. Just like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, many of the events (though less so than Button) are narrated by Lemony Snicket, causing the film to follow a very literal progression and its pace to slow tremendously. While the beginning offers an original and engaging premise, drawing the viewer in, the film itself doesn't sustain because the events become repetitive while they are being force-fed to the viewer through the narrator. Thus, while children may be alienated from Lemony Snicket due to the disturbingly unfortunate events and their related imagery, adults may be alienated from the film by its inability to retain a consistent tempo or to keep that originality fresh throughout the film.
Still, this film has many redeeming qualities that kept me awake and interested through its conclusion. Besides Meryl Streep, I also enjoyed Billy Connolly's kind Uncle Monty (his Scottish brogue was a perfect accessory to his character) and a brief but memorable cameo by Dustin Hoffman. Also, the score by Thomas Newman (who also, incidentally, scored Finding Nemo) was wonderfully imaginative and vivacious and suited to these children's unfortunate adventures. Further, the realistic life lessons offered up by Lemony Snicket's tales are worthwhile to both children and adults if the former can understand them and if the latter requires the refresher.
As for ratings, I find myself ascribing a 7 to Lemony Snicket, for being shaky but entertaining. The film is quite amusing, whatever else it may be. As to the test, I'm not sure about this one. I probably wouldn't buy it, unless I found it for cheap, and even then, I'm not sure I'd watch it again, but the film had enough going for it to keep me entertained. I'd likely recommend it to others, too, as fortunate--or unfortunate--as that recommendation would be.