Movie Review: Hugo

“Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.”

Genre : Drama, Adventure

Director : Martin Scorsese

Writers : John Logan, based on the novel by Brian Selznick

Cast : Ben Kingsley, Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Sacha Baron Cohen

Hugo is the latest masterpiece by director, Martin Scorsese. This time around he leaves his crime drama’s and gangsters for a magical Christmas film for the whole family. It’s his first PG movie in 18 years and despite its curiously unexpected origins and misleading appearance, Hugo manages to be one of the best films of the year.

Hugo is Scorsese’s first family film and it will probably enchant adults more than children. I say this because it’s an art film, designed to make you think and bombard your senses. Combine this with a 126 minute running time and you start to question how this was designed for children at all. I would go so far as to say that this is a movie for cinephiles that can bring their kids along.

In a word, this movie can be described as gorgeous – both visually and emotionally. Whether its swooping camera angles or moving cogs, there is always something going on that will grab your attention. I saw this in 3D and was ecstatic at how well it was done. Hugo is by far one of the finest 3D films ever made. It might even be the best live action use of 3D ever. There are several reasons for this. First, it was filmed to be in 3D as opposed to being post converted like the terrible Alice in Wonderland or the most recent Immortals. As such, it doesn’t throw gimmicky objects at you but creates a real sense of depth and movement. Scorsese went so far as to direct the movie by wearing clip-on 3D lenses over his own glasses. And after James ‘Avatar’ Cameron got a chance to attend a special screening, he himself said it was the best use of 3D he had ever seen, including his own films. The 3D isn’t without issue. It suffers from some continuity errors; most notably the flurry of 3D snow seen at one camera angle and the sparse, flat 2D snow seen at a different angle. If you see this one in theaters (and you should), it would behoove you to splurge and see the true 3D version.

The music also deserves special mention. Howard Shore’s score is so wonderful that the first thing I did when I got home was to go on Amazon and buy this gem. In fact, I’m listening to it as I write this. It’s French infused and paced so wonderfully that you practically see the movie playing in your head when listening to these tracks.

The vision of Paris after World War is not often seen in cinema and it was captured wonderfully here. The majority of the screen time is spent in a crowded train station. I’m not sure who the main character is in this film, it’s either Ben Kingsley or Asa Butterfield but the movie begins with the latter. Asa portrays the character of Hugo, an orphan living in the clockwork of the station hoping to one day repair a human looking machine, called an automaton. The local toy maker, Ben Kingsley, seems to know something about this but wants no part of it. His goddaughter, portrayed by Kick Ass’ hitgirl, Chloe Grace Moretz wants to help, despite the trouble it would cause. Sacha Baron Cohen is the evil station chief who is trying to send Hugo to the orphanage and happens to also be the comic relief. It’s an unusual situation as his humor if supposed to be very subtle, if not awkward but I actually appreciated not being hit over the head with childish slapstick.
There’s no real plot to the film. Instead it’s more of a series of seamless events that eventually lead the audience to the ending credits but it’s an intriguing ride, to say the least. There are many other side characters that don’t serve any real purpose but somehow improve the world we see simply by being there. The most notable of these performances are Emily Mortimer, Christopher Lee, Frances de la Tour and Richard Griffiths. Despite these characters being completely pointless, they are all iconic British actors who inexplicably fit right in to this Paris film.

For a visual adventure movie, Hugo is actually very slow paced and can easily bore the impatient with melodrama. It isn’t until the second half that you start to figure out just exactly what Hugo is. Personally, I wasn’t onboard with the movie until it started to reveal the background of Ben Kingsley. There’s so much to soak in. Ultimately we get a movie about purpose, family and the magic of cinema.

My biggest complaint with this movie is the use of special effects. The childish, more fantastical elements took me out of the film and felt awkward and unnecessary. The strangest of these is the explanation of Hugo’s father’s death. He opens a door to a hallway and is engulfed in flames….no further explanation given. As bad as it looked, it just didn’t have any place or purpose in the movie. The same could be said for all CGI scenes.

My criticisms are few and far between with this well-crafted love letter to cinema. Hugo is Scorsese’s first family film and first 3D film and he doesn’t just succeed in both categories, he makes a masterpiece.