Film Review: "Hugo"

Martin Scorsese's "Hugo" is a movie about movies. It's also about acceptance, perseverance, and finding your place in the world, but these larger universal themes are set against a backdrop of appreciation for the art of film, particularly the early silent era. Though this story-within-a-story approach causes the film to become a bit thematically conflicted, it's still a solid outing from one of Hollywood's greatest filmmakers.

Based on the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, "Hugo" is the story of Hugo Cabret (relative newcomer Asa Butterfield), an orphaned boy who lives in the walls of a Paris train station and keeps the clocks running on time. Hugo's most prized possession is an automaton, a mechanical man that his father (Jude Law) found in a museum and rebuilt, though he and Hugo were never able to get the robot to work. Hugo draws the ire of the station inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen) and a toyshop owner (Ben Kingsley), but finds friendship with the toy seller's daughter Isabelle (Chloe Moretz). The two of them embark on an adventure to activate the automaton, which leads to increasingly fascinating discoveries for them both.

Based on that plot description, you may wonder where this film becomes "a movie about movies," as I termed it in my opening. I don't want to give that aspect away as the manner in which it happens is a rather major spoiler. Suffice to say that it does, and it is very much the focus of the film's last half. Unfortunately this is when it comes off the rails a bit, as Scorsese's love of film comes through very obviously. I absolutely love the art of film; that's why I started this blog, to share my love of the art of film with anyone who wants to read my articles. And I admire directors like Scorsese who have such an appreciation of the history of this art form and all the filmmakers who have come before them and helped them to have the opportunities they have now. That being said, I think Scorsese's "love letter to the silent era" as some have put it, comes off as just a bit preachy. This second half of the film, when the story becomes more about movies and less about Hugo, isn't as strong simply because Hugo's story is so emotionally resonant. This is largely due to Asa Butterfield, who gives an absolutely outstanding performance. Hugo is an orphan who is lonely, hungry, and dirty and Butterfield absolutely captures the despair that this young boy is feeling. All the performances are quite good in fact as even Cohen gets an emotional moment near the film's end.

All flaws aside, this film is a technical wonder. I find it a bit ironic that Scorsese chose to make a film about the importance of early silent films...and shoot it in digital 3D. I refuse to see films in 3D, for reasons which I have discussed ad nauseum elsewhere, but which may deserve their own post here. So I saw this film in 2D and, as always, I don't think anything was lost in the experience. The production values are utterly immaculate, and though this is unlike any film Scorsese has ever made, both in terms of plot, audience appeal, and technology, his visual style is clearly present here. The cinematography is gorgeous, though a good bit of it is CGI. There are, however, at least two long tracking shots that were not CGI, and lead cameraman Robert Richardson absolutely deserves an Oscar nomination for his work. The sound design is immaculate as well, with ticking clocks and idling steam engines having a virtually constant presence; an Oscar nomination for sound editing is absolutely deserved.

"Hugo" is definitely a film I would recommend, but you should know the type of film you are in for. The main character is a child, but this is not a children's film at all...not because of dark themes, but because the themes are simply above the heads of children. Cinephiles may love the homages to the silent era, but they may also see a flawed film, as I did. But as a piece of experimentation by one of the greatest filmmakers working today, "Hugo" is certainly a success, though not an astounding one.

"Hugo" is rated PG for mild thematic material, some action / peril, and smoking.
Running time: 127 minutes.
Released domestically on November 23, 2011, by Paramount Pictures.
3 stars out of 4.