Hugo (2011)

Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenplay: John Logan (based on the book by Brian Selznick)
Cast: Asa Butterfield, Chloë Grace Moretz, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen
Music: Howard Shore
Time: 127 minutes
Bottom-line: Perhaps Scorsese’s best work since 2000

No gangsters, no violence, no profanity... but yes, it is a Martin Scorsese picture! In fact, Hugo is Scorsese’s first ‘non R-rated’ film. Although he has many high points in his career, to me, this is his best film of this century (out of a total of six since Gangs of New York). Each director may have a personal favourite among his own films, but I feel that even if Hugo is not Scorsese’s favourite, it is the one that is closest to his heart.

1931- Hugo Cabret (Butterfield) is a 12-year-old orphan living in the walls of the Paris railway station, who mends the station clocks. He makes a living by stealing food and other stuff from the station. His father was close to him – taking him to the movies, teaching him to repair things. His father was trying to fix an automaton, when he was killed by a museum fire. Hugo continues fixing it, often stealing parts from a bitter toy maker, Papa Georges (Kingsley). Eventually he gets caught, and Georges takes Hugo’s notebook (which has instructions to fix the automaton) from him. While hoping to get it back, Hugo meets Georges’ goddaughter, Isabelle (Moretz), who promises to help. As the two grow closer, Hugo realises that Papa Georges is more than just a toy maker. The message left behind by his father also slowly begins to dawn on him...

Asa Butterfield as Hugo

This is one of the few films to make the best use of 3D. Scorsese said that he made the film in 3D so that ‘the actors’ slightest move and their slightest intention are picked up much more precisely’. But many other critics and I feel that 3D technology helps to bring the emotions of the characters out of the screen, and into the audience’s hearts. But, the characters are so well developed that even if the film is not seen in 3D, the love, emotions, sadness and joy seem so real that we also empathise with them. The film mainly deals with the themes of friendship, the spirit of adventure and it tells us what happiness means.

Grace Moretz as Isabelle 

The story is slow to start, with lots of time given for plot and character development. But it is towards the end of the second half that the various tracks start to merge. As Hugo says in a dialogue, “The world is like one big machine; it does not come with extra parts.” Similarly, the film is a big machine, and all the parts click at the right time to produce a heart-warming story. And by ‘parts’, I mean everything – score, visuals, acting, story... Hugo is indeed a masterpiece. I haven’t seen many Scorsese films, but I can tell you that if you want a Scorsese film with a happy ending, watch Hugo.

Ben Kingsley as Papa Georges 

Asa Butterfield showed me one of the best performances by a child actor I have ever seen. He has a terrific career ahead of him, and his superb performance in this film is only the beginning of a successful run. Supporting him is Chloë Grace Moretz, who also has given a splendid performance. These two actors show extraordinary maturity in their performances. Then there is Ben Kingsley who has also given a great performance. (Spoiler alert) Kingsley plays Papa Georges, who is later found to be George Méliès, the legendary filmmaker, who used his own imagination and interest to make vivid films with lots of special effects in the early days of cinema. There are some scenes which show how special effects were used in the early days, and so, the inception of movie-making is also another theme that is portrayed in Hugo.

The automoton

With a total of eleven Oscar nominations, Hugo won five. The film excels in direction, acting, score and of course, visual effects. This is a completely new type of film from Scorsese, but it is as good as any other of his classics. If you feel you need an adventure, if you feel you need hope, or if you just want to watch a great film of recent times, Scorsese’s Hugo would be one of my top recommendations for family films.

For my final verdict, I quote Peter Debruge, a critic, who said, “In attempting to make his first film for all ages, Martin Scorsese has fashioned one for the ages.”

My Rating: 4.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 94%