Firstly, sorry for the break in transmission. My excuse is that I had no internet. Seriously, in this day and age. But let’s put that aside and start over for a new year!
Secondly, there’s no doubt Martin Scorsese is a master director, more often associated with gritty and violent films about the lives of gangsters and taxi drivers and Robert De Niro and less with lighter options (not counting that musical with Liza Minelli…… we’ll leave that alone).
In Hugo however, Scorsese has channeled all his heart and soul into a family friendly love letter to the early magical days of film making. It’s a move that may have been strange to fans of The Departed, particularly when early trailers were revealed to look a bit on the soppy side, but the resulting film is beautiful, nostalgic, moving and thrillingly entertaining.
We open in 1930’s Paris, as a young boy living behind the walls of a train station winds the clocks and steals parts to fix a mysterious machine he has been left by an absent father. This is young Hugo Cabret, played with much warmth and maturity by Asa Butterfield, and as we follow him through the beautifully recreated Parisian winter we meet a colourful cast of characters each somehow connected through the hub of the station; namely Sacha Baron Cohen as the orphan hating Inspector, Ben Kingsley as the prickly toy shop owner and Chloe Grace Moretz as his adventurous goddaughter. Across the board these performances are great, equal parts humourous and touching. The young Moretz injects so much wonder into the eyes of her character Isabelle that it’s hard not to get caught up in the excitement of it all and Ben Kingsley was unlucky to miss out on a supporting Oscar nod (robbed I say!). Jude Law and Helen McCrory also pop up in smaller roles, fleshing out a classy ensemble.
The world these characters live in is peppered with the hint of the magical; Scorsese ups the colour saturation and the whimsy – especially when the film flashes back into the earlier life and career of a particular character (I’ll try not to spoil too much). It’s fairly breathtaking, and directed with a genuine love for the subject.
Hugo is probably more a film for adults than children, although there is enough adventure and hijinks here to keep the smaller ones entertained. I’m not saying they won’t enjoy the multi layered story and incredible visuals, it’s just that I think the trailers are a bit misleading - It’s not an ‘action figure’ kind of movie and can get a bit bogged down between the big set pieces. Essentially, it’s one boy’s emotional story of discovery.
However….If you, like me, love the following things: Paris in the 1930’s, old films, steam trains, tiny Daschund dogs and great movies…. then Hugo is a must see.
Also, we should probably be friends.
Four and a half out of five.
