Hugo [3D] Review

Posted by Jeremy Wilson on 11.27.2011

Martin Scorsese brings us his first 3D family film, a love letter to the history and wonders of cinema. Does he pull it off? 411's Jeremy Wilson checks in with his full review!

Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Written by: John Logan
Based on the book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by: Brian Selznick

Hugo Cabret: Asa Butterfield
Isabelle: Chloë Grace Moretz
Georges Méliès: Ben Kingsley
Station Inspector: Sacha Baron Cohen
Hugo's Father: Jude Law
Uncle Claude: Ray Winstone
Lisette: Emily Mortimer
Mama Jeanne (Méliès' wife): Helen McCrory
Monsieur Labisse: Christopher Lee
Madame Emile: Frances de la Tour
Monsieur Frick: Richard Griffiths
René Tabard: Michael Stuhlbarg

Rated PG for mild thematic material, some action/peril and smoking.
Running Time: 127 minutes



You would be forgiven for double-checking to make sure Martin Scorsese is, in fact, the director of Hugo.There are no gangsters. New York is never visited. Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio never appear. Many of the staples woven throughout the accomplished director's nearly five-decade career are missing from his new 3D family-friendly film, except for one. Scorsese's love of film – and its history – is on full display, because above all else, Hugo is a love letter to cinema. Scorsese's love letter.

Since his acclaimed masterpiece, GoodFellas, Scorsese has had an up-and-down two decades, dividing critics and audiences as he transitioned from the end of his “De Niro” phase to his more recent “DiCaprio” period. Neither man is in his latest film, which serves as a radical departure for a director who has rarely come close to making what could be described as “family-friendly” fare. Make no mistake though; I would venture to guess that Hugo is as personal a film as Scorsese has ever made. Perhaps because of that personal stake and the film's subject matter (Scorsese is also heavily involved in film restoration efforts), the film ends up as an extraordinary achievement that balances the artistic and entertainment qualities of cinema as well as any movie to appear this year.

Hugo is the story of young Hugo Cabret, an orphan who lives (and hides) in an enormous train station in 1930's Paris. Hugo's father (Jude Law) is a watchmaker and is intent on fixing an automaton with his son that he has found in the museum where he works. However, the father is tragically killed in a fire before their project is complete and Hugo is forced to go and live with his uncle, who is in charge of the clocks at the train station. Hugo learns the ropes and goes around every day winding the clockworks because his uncle is a falling-down drunkard. He lives day-to-day by stealing what he can; whether it is croissants and milk, or spare gears and parts for the automaton he now must finish repairing on his own. Eventually, the owner of a toy shop in the station, Georges Méliès (Ben Kingsley) catches on to the young thief and forces him to work to make up for what Hugo has stolen. This leads to Hugo becoming friends with Méliès' young goddaughter, Isabelle (Chloë Grace Moretz) who does her best to help Hugo retrieve his notebook, finish his automaton and learn if it really is a message from his father. Her involvement also leads into a second mystery they must uncover the truth about, one that leads to a connection between her family and Hugo as well as the unknown truth about her godfather.

Hugo is the adaptation of the wildly popular 2007 graphic novel (for lack of a better term), The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Scorsese snapped up the rights almost immediately; many questioned why Scorsese would want to tackle something so...childish. After all, this was America's most celebrated filmmaker, beloved by audiences and critics alike and the man who gave us Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, GoodFellas, Casino, Gangs of New York and The Departed. We thought we knew what to expect from Scorsese and a 3D children's fable wasn't it. However, it ends up less surprising than initially thought, because Scorsese – above all – is a film buff. He not only directs motion pictures; he's a student of the industry and of film history. He is one of the driving forces behind film restoration efforts and his work has often centered on real-life individuals and stories. Therefore, it's pretty easy to see why a story about one of the cinema's greatest pioneers would intrigue him, especially presented in material that mirrored that figure's style.

Hugo is bold, bright and colorful. Which is a good thing because it helps negate the criticism surrounding many current 3D releases, which is that they end up appearing dimmer and darker. That is not the case here; in fact, I would state that the 3D effects in Hugo are better than nearly every 3D release of the last several years and on par (if not outright better) with those found in Avatar. James Cameron is a “bigger is better” kind of filmmaker. Everything in his films are large-scale and “in your face.” Scorsese is more nuanced and technically proficient. The film begins with an extended prologue that includes a lengthy (and impressive) tracking shot that is enhanced by CGI and 3D and contains almost no intelligible dialogue. It is the first of many instances of Scorsese paying homage to the beginnings of cinema. Later on, Scorsese creatively incorporates the famous Lumiere Brothers’ Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat, using both the actual footage and recreating it in 3D within the context of his own film. That scene is famous for scaring audiences, who at the time, had never seen anything like it before and were fearful the train they were seeing was actually heading straight for them. Scorsese plays off that beautifully with a train disaster in the Parisian station that attempts to do in 3D what those over a century ago felt in 2D.

Scorsese doesn't do them to simply pay homage or show off (well, maybe a little), but because they feel germane to the spirit of the story as well. When we see Hugo hanging onto the giant hand of a clock later on in the film as he hides from the Train Inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen), it is a direct homage to Safety Last! (1932) featuring Harold Lloyd. That's not a coincidence; Safety Last! is the film Hugo and Isabelle see on their “adventure,” when Hugo takes the girl and sneaks them into the theater. The image of Lloyd dangling from the clock leaves an indelible mark on the children who are in awe. The tracking shot that opens the film pays homage to the Lumiere Brothers' Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory (1895) as we see the hustle and bustle of the Parisian train station. In fact, we feel fully immersed in it, thanks in no small part to Scorsese's direction and subtle use of 3D.

And then there is Georges Méliès himself. Méliès continues to be regarded as the grandfather of the special effect and was one of the first (and most popular) filmmakers who produced fiction on the big screen, especially in the early history of cinema. His most famous film, A Trip to the Moon is prominently featured in Scorsese's film. Not only are clips shown later on, the iconic image of the rocket in the eye of the “man of the moon” plays an important part in the mysteries being solved by Hugo and Isabelle. Méliès' role in Hugo ultimately gives it its soul and voice. By the time we see Méliès in Hugo he is a broken and broke man, forced to abandon his dreams and live his life in relative obscurity, trading in his studio for a toy shop. The Great War has taken a toll on many in Hugo, but none more than Méliès. His fanciful films were not what people wanted as times darkened and war ravaged Europe. The beginnings of World War I changed consumer tastes; people simply did not want what Méliès was providing. It got so bad that Méliès had to sell his films – the actual film – so he could make ends meet and buy the toy shop. His films were melted down and turned into womens' shoe heels. It is no wonder the man wanted to forget his past and became as bitter as he did. When Hugo reaches its conclusion, the overwhelming emotion felt by the audience is in no small part due to Kingsley as Méliès.



Kinglsey gives a mesmerizing performance as Méliès, showing the hardened, bitter side, but also balancing it with a softer side that helped show that he remained essentially a decent human being. He could have easily turned young Hugo over to the Inspector or burned the boy's notebook that contained how to repair the automaton. The fact that he doesn't is telling and helps give the audience stronger feelings for Méliès as the film progresses. It is interesting that I've gone as long as I have without mentioning the title character. That should not be regarded as a slight towards either Asa Butterfield or Chloë Grace Moretz as Isabelle. Both are very young, but give strong performances. Butterfield in particular manages to hold his own against the bigger and more experienced stars such as Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jude Law and even Moretz (who continues to show an incredible depth of range for an actress so young). It's hard to not think of Charles Dickens when we see Butterfield run around the station, tracing his own memorized path as he winds his way through the station, nooks, crannies, backrooms and in the walls themselves, stealing food and parts, eavesdropping on the station's set of regulars and hiding form those who would send him to the orphanage. Butterfield does well to rise above the stereotypical Dickensian performance of Oliver Twist or Tiny Tim, instead infusing Hugo with purpose and a quiet, but steely, determination to finish fixing his father's automaton and simply survive.

The technical wizardry and film knowledge on display is balanced by a creative, almost whimsical fable that is very moving and entertaining. I suppose if the film had a “flaw” – and I use that term in the loosest possible sense – it would be length and pacing. There is no doubt that the first half of Hugo goes at its own leisurely pace. I did not have a problem with it, but some may not share my feelings and find themselves bored or antsy as the film takes its time to unfold. I think the biggest problem with Hugo is not necessarily of the film itself. Hugo has a budget of around $175 million (or so) and has been heavily marketed as an action-packed, 3D “kid's movie.” It is certainly acceptable for kids to see; however, this really isn't the typical “kid's movie” many may believe it to be from wathcing trailers and ads. The film clocks in at over two hours, takes its time and is basically a love letter to the origins of film-making. Georges Méliès, the Lumiere Brothers and silent film aren't usually the subject matter that most “kid's films” are built around. The problem may not be with the film, but with the marketing behind it and the expectations of those going to see it. Happy Feet Two this is not.

The fact is that some will not like Hugo and that's okay. You can't please all of the people all of the time. For those who love the movies and are at least somewhat intrigued about film history, there is little better than Hugo and there are few more capable of articulating that on screen than Martin Scorsese. It is a love letter to cinema much in the same way The Artist or Cinema Paradiso are, and perfectly articulates the wonder and awe the movies can instill in kids and adults alike. Its 3D effects are some of the best the medium has ever seen and fit perfectly in a movie that references filmmakers who used what was thought of as “gimmickry” at the time (I have no doubt Georges Méliès would have loved Hugo and would have been beyond fascinated by the 3D). Most importantly (and this is something Scorsese fully understands), movies are meant to invoke emotion. Whether that is the fear of being hit by a train, the awe of watching a boy cling desperately to the hand of a clock or the welling of emotion as we see a decent man get the long overdue recognition he deserves from a community he thought had forgot him. Hugo does this better than most, providing a sentimental, adult, family-friendly film that feels alive, original and full of wonder. It is a masterpiece and arguably the best movie of the year so far. Everyone deserves to see a film so beautiful and well-crafted as this.

Jeremy Wilson can be reached via email at [e-mail] and on Twitter @Jpwilson1984

The 411: I can't fully express how special Hugo is as a film. Martin Scorsese has delivered one of the great love letters to cinema we've ever seen and done it in a way that George Méliès himself would be proud. Hugo is arguably the most beautiful looking film of the year and showcases a fully realized world, with 3D effects that rival those found in Avatar. Asa Butterfield and Chloë Moretz are wonderful and more than hold their own against a strong adult cast. However, the standout performance belongs to Ben Kingsley, who portrays Méliès as a hard, broken man whose contact with Hugo changes his outlook and life. There are so many nods and references (some clear as day, others more subtle) to film history that it's hard to keep track and it allows Scorsese to end up making what has to be one of his most personal films to date. Hugo is family-friendly, but I would caution that – at over two hours – it may not be the kind of film kids are used to seeing. It is a film that for long stretches can be melancholy and unhurried; put another way, it is a film young children may struggle to stay engaged with. Ultimately, it is a rarity in Hollywood these days; a film for adults and movie lovers without nudity, violence or cursing, but with an extraordinary amount of detail, nuance and heart. “Sentimental” hasn't been done this well for a long time and more than a few who see it will be choking up by the end, whether you're old or young, casual film-goer or cynical film critic. Do yourself a favor and see it (yes, even in 3D). Recommended.

Final Score:  10.0   [ Virtually Perfect ]