Hugo
Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Ben Kingsley, Chloe Moretz
Details: US / 127mins (PG).
Scorsese's homage to silent cinema, and in particular the films of Georges Mélies, is a beautiful looking film and, in some scenes, a wonderful advertisement for 3D. However, while Martin swoons, the nub of this children's movie - a forgotten boy and a forgotten machine - is overlooked and it's hard to see kids being all that interested in black and white French cinema from the early part of the 20th century.
When is clock-making father dies, Hugo (Butterfield) takes to living in the rafters and walls of a 1930s Parisian train station. Spending the time tending to the clocks and avoiding the angry station inspector (Cohen), Hugo spends most of his time stealing tiny cogs, wheels and other various bits of metal from George's (Kingsley) treasure trove stall in an attempt to fix his clockwork automaton, the last connection he has to his dead father (Jude Law).
Opening with a stunning wide shot of Paris in the snow, Hugo's opening salvo, a dialogue-free ten minutes as Scorsese's camera flies gracefully about the station, introducing all the characters and setting up the plot. Wonderful stuff. Butterfield, with his moon eyes, can carry a movie with his face alone. Hugo plays out almost like a dream and it's easy to just glide along with it. But there are too many nudges and bumps to wake you up.
Scorsese takes his eye off the ball. He sets up a film about a young boy and his quest to find a heart-shaped key to make his father's automaton work, but then it diverges into a myriad of tiny subplots. The reasons for Baron Cohen's love of florist Emily Mortimer and Richard Griffith's battle with Frances de la Tour's dog aren't strong enough to warrant time spent on them.
Disappointing too is Moretz; most impressive in Kick Ass and Let Me In, she looks lost here, displaying only a fraction of her talent. Sacha Baron Cohen, hampered by his straight character (a nod and a wink to old fashioned bad guys in children's movies from yesteryear), looks unsure as well. His station inspector just isn't funny enough. Scorsese can't find anything for Ray Winstone and Christopher Lee to do either, who pop up every now and then, add zilch to the movie, and disappear again.
A nice introduction to the dawn of film Hugo may be, it can be just a bit dull in the telling.
Review by Gavin Burke
Your Comments
FilmBuff76
Martin Scorsese indulges his lifelong passion for cinema with this gorgeous, charming and heartfelt love letter to the silver screen. While it may look and feel like a children's film, it isn't really. Like Pan's Labyrinth, it's a film about children but with adults in mind. Hugo, a lonely boy in a Paris train station, befriends a bitter old man who he later discovers to be cinema's great fantasist, Georges Melies. He gradually helps him to connect with his past, as we take a journey with Hugo into the early days of cinema... It will certainly be too sophisticated for younger children, but older children and adults will enjoy the recreation of a bygone era (though the English accents do seem out of place). Perhaps those who will enjoy it the most are film buffs like myself, who will no doubt appreciate the spotlight on the distant Melies, one of cinema's earliest special effects pioneers. Highly recommended.
Posted 02/12/2011 22:02:30
Rebecca
Is the 3D version worth it. Gavin says it was good in some scenes, but on the whole does it add or detract from the film ?
Posted 05/12/2011 10:24:54
ted29
The 3d is not worth it in the way you have become used to it, Scorsese doesnt use it as a money making gimmick in this movie but merely to accentuate certain scenes. Its a beautiful movie but i have to disagree with filmbuff in that it will go over most peoples heads. Kids will be bored, teens will be on their smart phones and most adults will be waiting for this "magic" to kick in whilst not caring a jot about Georges Melies and his part in early cinema. Its a great movie for the minority but it wont make money as the majority will steer clear once word of mouth prevails.
Posted 07/12/2011 11:39:10
debs
A wonderful 'feel-good' film for all ages. Ok young kids may not get the whole film-history part - but the film gives a beautiful look behind the scenes, of the director at work, costumes, characters at work in the glass set. I didnt find the film even remotely boring, it is wonderfully sweet, the characters all very endearing and perfect for an afternoon at the cinema. For older viewers I thought as well as being entertaining it also was a great introduction to film for young teenagers with an interest in studying film/media. a very sweet film.
Posted 10/12/2011 11:59:38
christopher buckley
Hugo is an extravagant, elegant fantasy with an innocence lacking in many modern kids' movies, and one that emanates an unabashed love for the magic of cinema.
Posted 23/12/2011 17:03:50
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