Review - Hugo

Those who caught a glimpse of the trailer for Hugo earlier this year must have had a hard time believing it was Martin Scorsese’s latest offering. With its light tone, mild slapstick and prepubescent characters racing through an old station, it felt like watching a preview of the next Narnia film.

Yet while he’s more renowned for his flicks about the mob, it’s very easy to forget that Marty has always been one for exploring new genres. Throughout his long, varied career he has flirted with psycho horror (Shutter Island, Bringing out the Dead); immersed himself in religion and spirituality (Kundun, The Last Temptation of Christ); and tackled the historical epic (Gangs of New York). Hugo sees the diminutive filmmaker’s foray into another unexpected subgenre: the Christmas family film. Who’d have thunk it, eh?

Set in a 1930s Parisian railway station, the film follows young orphan Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield), a resourceful mechanic who spends his time maintaining the building’s clocks and tinkering with a childlike automaton left by his father. Whilst the station itself is a gallery of vibrant characters, Hugo is particularly fascinated with a taciturn shopkeeper (Ben Kingsley) who may be linked to his late father. Aided by the shopkeeper’s daughter Isabelle (Chloe Moretz), the boy sets out to uncover the mystery.

Impressive use of 3D aside (Marty shooting in 3D?? Never!), the first act of Hugo is somewhat lacklustre. Scorsese’s intent is to take time in setting up his characters and the beautifully nostalgic world they inhabit, but in these early stages the film is brought down by an apparent lack of direction. It is a misstep so flagrant, it actually makes you briefly question whether mainstream entertainment is a natural fit for the director.

But this is Scorsese we’re talking about and he has one hell of an ace up his sleeve. Revealing too much would spoil the plot, but it’s safe to say that what starts off as affable family entertainment gradually turns into a surprisingly personal labour of love for the medium of cinema. As the pace picks up, Hugo starts piling up touching references to pioneers and milestones of filmmaking, such as the Lumière brothers, Douglas Fairbanks and George Méliès’ Le Voyage dans la Lune (even the Gare Montparnasse railway derailment gets the cinematic treatment). It goes without saying that all of the above are great sources of inspiration to Scorsese and the directors of his generation.

While Butterfield and Moretz may not possess the requisite gravitas to carry a film (although this is due to their age and inexperience, not an inability to act) they are ably supported by a talented cast. Sacha Baron Cohen turns in a comically rigid performance as station inspector Gustav, while Jude Law makes a welcome, if a little too brief cameo as Hugo’s father, but the real heart and soul of the film though are Ben Kingsley and Helen McCrory. The two veteran actors share a deeply affecting chemistry as an old married couple and as the climax gently unfolds, their final scenes pack a real emotional punch.    

Herein lays Hugo’s greatest strength: it is a film that moves and educates in equal measure and speaks to viewers of all ages. Now that is a proper family film. Well done, Mr Scorsese.

4/5