Hugo: My Thoughts

Hugo is to put it simply, a film about film. It revels in cinematic history and manages to tell a charming tale about an old man recovering from his past. It's a great little film, and is draped in gorgeous visuals that only a legendary director like Martin Scorsese could produce. You could say that it has a little bit of that 'Je ne sais quoi'! It also serves as a great launching pad for child actor Asa Butterfield, who is one of the most accomplished child actors I've seen, and that's standing next to Chloe Moretz, who sets a high standard herself. In the film Asa plays an orphan named Hugo (if you haven't already guessed that from the title) who's currently living in a train station in the middle of Paris, charged with winding up the many clocks. He's trying to fix this creepy automation that his father has left him, believing it to contain a message that could start an 'amazing adventure'. The first half of the film shows the off setting nicely, as you get to learn Hugo's day-to-day life. You feel practically smothered by the smoke in the Parisian atmosphere, and that's in 2D. Heaven know's how good this was in 3D, but I can say that if you've got a 3D T.V set-up then this film is a must have purely on a visual level. The level of detail in the set designs are astounding, and the complex gears that winds up the many mechanical instruments give off an almost magical vibe. When we delve into the second half of the film however, you find that there's a lot more on display here than just simple imagery. Scorsese has truly crafted a labour of love here, telling the tragic (almost fairytale) like story of one of the founding fathers of modern cinema. It's a love-letter to the 1930's, illustrated by posters of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and flashbacks to Les Freres Lumieres. Any film buff will feel right at home here, and Scorsese presents cinema as a way to make a directors dreams come true (for him especially). Aside from the visuals and story, the characters and performances are equally nuanced and well thought out. Hugo is a somewhat different protagonist than what we've been used to before, and teamed up next to Chloe Moretz they make for a great pairing. Sacha Baron Cohen, (famous for having played Borat) is a likeable but menacing station officer, although he barely counts as a 'villain' of sorts, more like an obstacle in Hugo's way. Ben Kingsley, the grumpy old man running the station toy shop is another wonderful performance, not to mention he is the spitting image of the person he's playing (spoilers). Several well known character actors like Christopher Lee, Jude Law and Ray Winstone make a welcome appearance as well. 


Overall, Hugo is a love letter to film disguised as a kids adventure film (if it can be called an adventure), and is brilliantly acted, directed and scripted to make it a film well worth your time. The only complaint I have is that the film did take a while to get going, as the first half feels too plodded out. 8/10.