Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events film review

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LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS

Although not quite as successful as the Harry Potter series in terms of worldwide sales, Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler) has repeated J.K. Rowling's feat of creating a series of books that appeal to adults and children alike. The first big screen adaptation of his work is a melange of the first three books in the series, and fans eagerly awaiting the cinematic version will not be disappointed. Newcomers to the series may find the darker edge to the stories somewhat disconcerting, while Jim Carrey's hyperkinetic performance in several roles threatens to turn the film into a one-man show.

Director Brad Silberling tackles his biggest project to date (a reputed $100m was spent) with considerable aplomb, employing a production design by Tim Burton's regular collaborator Rick Heinrichs that perfectly captures Snicket's unorthodox world. Indeed, at times the look of the film dominates proceedings (along with Carrey), with the narrative line occasionally becoming muddled.

The story concerns the three Baudelaire children: inventor Violet (Emily Browning), clever-clogs Klaus (Liam Aiken) and baby Sunny (Kara and Shelby Hoffman), who are left orphaned when their parents are killed in a house fire. The sprightly Mr. Poe (Timothy Spall) appears as the executor of their estate and whisks them off to their nearest relative, Count Olaf (Carrey, bearing a remarkable resemblance to Christopher Lloyd). Olaf is a vain monster, living in a decrepit house, obsessed with his talentless theatre group and determined to get rid of the kids by any means possible so that he can get his hands on their fortune.

When the kids realise Olaf's dastardly intentions, they persuade Poe to ship them off to another relative, the decidedly cuddly Montgomery Montgomery (Billy Connolly), a collector of strange animals and all round good egg. But when a curiously familiar face arrives to work as Monty's assistant, it's not long before the children realise that they may not have quite finished with Olaf. Their tenure with Monty comes to an unexpected end, and they are once again on the move, this time to the plainly weird Aunt Josephine (Meryl Streep), a widow fixated on the dangers apparent in simple everyday activities. Temporary respite is shattered with the arrival in town of a familiar-looking sailor, who makes everyone question if Olaf will ever really become a part of their past.