I am on my quest to see all that Best Picture nominees and one of the ones left on the list was Hugo. Hugo is based on a children's book written by Brian Selznick The Invention of Hugo Cabret. This film is directed by Martin Scorsese (and you know you've made into the American lexicon when your name comes up in spell check.) Scorsese is not exactly known for family-friendly viewing. Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Departed, or GoodFellas are not what families flock to the theater to see together. Thus is the influence of having children at a older age. Scorsese, who is now 69 years old, has a young daughter who read Selznick's book and encouraged her dad to make it into a movie. My first thought after seeing he'd made this movie was, "What's next? Is Quentin Tarantino going to start doing children's films too?"Imagine his telling of Hansel and Gretel. Eww.
It's obvious from the first seconds of this movie that Scorsese set out to make the most beautiful film he could possibly make. The film is also his first foray into 3-D. I am not a huge fan of 3-D movies, sometimes they just try too hard. I think it takes a skillful hand to say south of the line of ridiculousness with them. I usually will choose to see the movie sans 3-D, but it was my only option this day. In this case, Scorsese takes you into the world of Hugo Cabret with the medium. His use of the 3-D really helps to make the train station, and all of Paris, a character in this film. This is truly one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen.
The cast was superb. Every part, large or small was handled with the utmost care. Ben Kingsley as George Melies (french accents dropped off because I don't know how to do them in this format) was wonderful transitioning from the sad old man to the young man full of fire. Sacha Baron Cohen (probably one of my least favorite actors on the planet) developed a villain with layers, not just a melodramatic evil-doer. I think my favorite characters were all the bit part players, Francis la Tour as Madame Emilee, Christopher Lee as Monsieur Labisse, and Richard Griffiths as Monsieur Frick helped draw Hugo's world. And even though I liked Asa Butterfield's performance in this film, it pales in comparison with his performance in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
Perhaps, however, not having read the book and hearing too many interviews about the film before seeing it colored my view somewhat. I have to say that I went into it with this idea of the film being a "love letter to the movies," and I kept waiting for that element to appear. I came in about midway through the film, and once it did, it made complete sense, but I felt it took to long to tie those pieces together. But, again, I never read the book.
I am so glad that Scorsese's daughter asked him to make this film. It was a gift. I would like to see Scorsese turn his magic on some other children's tales. I think it's definitely a front runner for best picture. It does what a movie should, takes you to another world.
