As the theme song suggests, “Look Away” before it’s too late, as A Series of Unfortunate Events is as melancholy as it sounds.
When the Baudelaire children — Violet (Malina Weissman), Klaus (Louis Hynes) and Sunny (Presley Smith) — lose their parents in a mysterious house fire, they are put in the care of Count Olaf (Neil Patrick Harris), their closest-living relative, who is primarily after the fortune they inherited. After being sent to the terrible Count Olaf, the unqualified banker Mr. Poe (K. Todd Freeman) transports the orphans from guardian to guardian, but they are unable to escape the presence of the theatrical Olaf.
A Series of Unfortunate Events is based on the novels by Lemony Snicket, the pen name for David Handler. The series is comprised of 13 books, and each novel is covered in two episodes in the Netflix series. Eight episodes were produced for the first season of the Netflix Original Series, which covers “The Bad Beginning,” “The Reptile Room,” “The Wide Window” and “The Miserable Mill.”
A Series of Unfortunate Events has a knack for theatrics, as its exaggerated characters and bizarre sets come to life for Netflix subscribers. Harris, who is no stranger to theatrics, is amazingly disgusting as the evil caretaker. In the 2004 adaptation of the first three books, Jim Carrey, who played Count Olaf, acted in comparable ways to his other movie characters. In the Netflix show, Harris presents his own interpretation of the villainous character and does so in a new and refreshing way. Harris is able to perform each character — Olaf, Stephano, Captain Sham and Shirley — in a different and captivating fashion.
Another character worth mentioning is Lemony Snicket himself. Patrick Warburton narrates the entire series as the author. With an aptitude for vocabulary — very similar to the original series — Warburton breaks the fourth wall, delivering monologues to the audience to inform viewers of the dangers and woes to come, all the while giving pertinent vocabulary lessons.
The show captures the essence and absurdity of the books — from the way Violet ties back her hair when she has an idea to the mysterious tattoo located on Count Olaf’s ankle. Excluding the Baudelaire children, the characters, who are often exaggerated, are presented in an over-the-top fashion. The only characters who seem normal are Violet, Klaus and Sunny, which uncovers an underlying theme in the narrative — children, who are often not taken seriously, can outsmart the know-it-all adults. In each episode, the children are presented with problems, and they are able to solve them with their own capabilities.
With Handler in the producer’s chair, the novels are displayed in an accurate manner and often retell the book series verbatim. Those who have been waiting for a noteworthy adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events need look no further, as the Netflix show succeeds in bringing every aspect of the novels to life.
Rating: 4/5
