Review of Hugo (2012) by Joel D — 06 Jan 2013

Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Gangs of New York and The Departed are all (rated by the BBFC as) 18s and directed by Martin Scorsese, so when he announced that he would be making a family adventure film called Hugo, it was a minor shock. But the main question raised post-announcement, was can Scorsese handle the other end of audiences?

Based on The Invention of Hugo Cabret, rated a U by BBFC and starring Asa Butterfield (The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang), Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen and Chloe Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass, 500 Days of Summer), Hugo shows 100% that Scorsese is more than just a director of violent gangster flicks.

He, with screenwriter John Logan, has woven a film that, I'm going to sound gay here, has its foundations on the power of love and perseverance and determination, a determination and perseverance that emanates from Hugo, a French orphan, as he tries to complete his dead fatherâ(TM)s work by repairing an Automaton.

Asa Butterfield shines brightly as the lonely eponymous character that lives in Gare Montparnasse station, and he will undoubtedly draw sympathy from every single person who watches this film, unless they're some sort of homicidal maniac who has no traces of a heart, as he evades the watch of the frightening Station Inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen) and bitter old toymaker Papa George (Ben Kingsley).

But the film is more than just a story of perseverance, determination and love, it delves deep into the history of movies and in particular the work of French film auteur Georges Mà (C)liès. Scorsese clearly has a passion for his work, much like Hugoâ(TM)s father whose favourite film was Mà (C)lièsâ(TM)s Voyage to the Moon, and I think you could look at the film as a sort of love letter to George and a documentary of his life.

Hugo is a heart-warming tale of determination, love and a film that documents the life of George Mà (C)liès, littered with good performances, in particular Asa Butterfield, that, while you could argue the whole George Mà (C)liès love letter derails the film and makes it all mushy and boring, is a wonderful example of a live-action film (basically not Pixar) that the whole family can enjoy and watch over and over again.