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

Director:

Brad Silberling

Writers (WGA):

Robert Gordon (screenplay)
Daniel Handler (books)

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 | Fire | Inheritance | Disguise

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 6 wins & 21 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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 (as Luis Guzman)
Jamie Harris	...	Hook-Handed Man
Craig Ferguson	...	Person of Indeterminate Gender
Jennifer Coolidge	...	White Faced Woman
Jane Adams	...	White Faced Woman

Also Known As:

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:

Dolby Digital EX | DTS-ES

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 (NO. 41164)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Director Brad Silberling admitted on the director's commentary that in some scenes the stand-ins for Kara Hoffman and Shelby Hoffman, the Knight babies, often appeared on camera instead of the original twins (but with their faces covered slightly).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Klaus shows the book "Inheritance Law and You" to Violet, he is holding the head of the camel mask. When he holds the book up, the mask is right behind him.

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:

Referenced in "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson: Episode #6.182" (2010)

Soundtrack:

Loverly Spring

Dark but compelling fantasy adventure

Having read none of the Lemony Snickett books, I was unsure of what to expect from this film.

The film begins with a gentle introduction that quickly turns into a humorous, but noteworthy, disclaimer that the following film has dark underlying themes. The main characters are introduced (the three children) and almost instantly we are subjected to the news of the first in a series, or unfortunate events. The film is fast paced and sends the children from one unfortunate situation to another, with Jude Law doing a splendid job of narrating the story along the way. The children a likable and resourceful characters with good chemistry between the actors. You genuinely feel they care about each other and have a great desire to help each other out of these incredible situations.

The real star of the show of course is Jim Carrey. This film provides the perfect platform for Mr Carrey to do what he does best, goof around and play over the top and outlandish characters. In this role Jim Carrey excels, never goofing off to much to undermine the credibility of the character, but being suitably over the top to convey the eccentric old count.

Visually, the film is stunning, the sets look straight out of a Tim Burton film, the costumes are fantastic, the direction is splendid and does a fine job of progressing the story. The visual effects are tremendous and fit in with the tale perfectly, never distracting nor undermining.

This film is quite dark for a children's film, but not dark in a sinister way, but dark in a spooky hallowe'en sort of way that kids love. Watching the film reminded me of reading Rhoal Dahl books as a child, with the over the top characters and out of this world situations.

The plot of the film is fast paced, but contains good character development and plenty of action and adventure. I would recommend this film to children and adults alike.