Before I got to read the books, I
saw the movie Lemony Snicket’s A Series
of Unfortunate Events first. I
moderately liked it, but didn’t quite “get” it.
Aside from Jim Carrey’s performance as Count Olaf, nothing else about
the movie struck me. Later on, I was able
to read some of the books (though, as of writing, I only own one), and enjoyed
them tremendously. As a children’s book
series, I found it very unique and smart.
It dares to be tonally dark and narratively complex, and then trusts its
young readers to handle them and to appreciate its satirical nature and inherent
cleverness. Thus, afterwards, I gained a
better appreciation of the film when I watched it again. However, since then, I also maintained the opinion
that a TV mini-series – whether animated or live-action – would have worked
better.
And now, that finally happened
with this new Netflix series.
A Series of Unfortunate Events follows the plight of the Baudelaire
children – the eldest, Violet (Malina Weissman), who shows remarkable aptitude
in inventing and mechanics; the middle-child, Klaus (Louis Hynes), a bookworm;
and the youngest, Sunny (Presley Smith), a baby with extraordinarily strong and
sharp teeth. After a mysterious fire
destroys their home and takes the lives of their parents, the three Baudelaire
orphans and their parents’ estate become the responsibility of Arthur Poe (K.
Todd Freeman), a well-meaning but patronizing and gullible banker suffering
from a chronic cough, who puts the three siblings under the guardianship of a
supposed distant relative named Count Olaf (Neil Patrick Harris), a dastardly
actor determined to take the Baudelaire fortune for himself by any means
necessary. As the children proceed to
elude his villainous attempts, their parents’ secrets are also revealed to them
along the way.
Count Olaf is one of the most notably
despicable villains in fiction ever. And
what makes the whole concept of A Series
of Unfortunate Events work is hinged on him as character – having the right
amounts and mix of hateability, campiness, and comedic charisma. Thus, Neil Patrick Harris has probably the
hardest job in the cast, as he’s expected to carry the show for himself when
necessary. And I think he nailed
it. He’s noticeably enjoying the
role. I was probably more entertained
with Jim Carrey – probably because he was more over-the-top – but Harris might
be the best live-action Olaf that can possibly be. He’s particularly the most fun when projecting
the “master of disguise” aspect of Olaf.
The other performances are great,
too. The actors, especially the
supporting ones, relish in how ridiculous their respective characters and
dialogue are. And it shows. My favorites, aside from Harris, are the
performances of K. Todd Freeman and Aasif Mandvi (who played the extremely
loveable herpetologist, Dr. Montgomery Montgomery).
Indeed, this series is a delight
to watch. But not only because of the
very entertaining characters and performances.
The production value is fantastic, the sets are stylish, the visuals are
beautiful, the storytelling is charming, and the writing is quite witty (though
too witty for its own good sometimes). It has the feel of a first-rate Wes Anderson
movie.
It basically follows the plot of
its source material – with two episodes covering one book (its debut season has
already covered the first four; at this pace, it will be a three-season
series). However (mild SPOILERS),
there’s this early plot twist that makes it seem that it will be deviating from
the book in one significant aspect.
But in another plot twist later on, this assumption is revealed to be
false. It was so well-executed, comparable to the plot twists of Westworld.
It’s not always an easy watch
though; it’s titled “A Series of Unfortunate
Events” after all. It’s full of
depressing and frustrating sequences.
Whenever there seems to be a gleam of hope, the narrative quickly makes
a 180-degree turn to despair. And though
I know where this show is coming from, I still can’t help but be upset at times
of the dimwittedness of the adult characters surrounding the Baudelaire children (especially Mr. Poe).
But A Series of Unfortunate Events is somewhat of a celebration of misery
after all. It thrives and commits to its bleak tone. Right from its opening, the show perfectly sets what’s it’s all about, as its very catchy
intro song, i.e. “Look Away” – which has well-written lyrics, and sang
wonderfully by Neil Patrick Harris – implores the viewers to not watch the
show, questioning why would they want to watch a feel-bad show instead of a feel-good
one – a sentiment which narrator Lemony Snicket (Patrick Warburton) reiterates several
times, in different approaches, throughout the series. Still, its lack or slowness of immediate, happy,
and satisfying resolutions ironically makes it more interesting and funnier. It’s black comedy at its best.
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