Classic Movie Review: 'Hugo'

Hugo (2011)

Directed by Martin Scorsese

Written by John Logan

Starring Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen

Release Date November 23rd, 2011

Published 10-25-2023

Imagine for a moment Martin Scorsese taking you aside to tell you why he loves the movies. Not only does Martin Scorsese tell you why he loves movies, he tells you via a fable about a child, a mechanized figure, and legendary French director George Melies. If you're like me then this scenario sounds like bliss and Hugo is indeed a blissful experience. Through the much maligned form of the family movie Martin Scorsese has offered to fans an education in the magic of the movie and a wonderful adventure that will undoubtedly delight the whole family.

Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) lost his father (Jude Law) at a very young age. The tragedy is still fresh in the young man's memory when we meet Hugo while he runs about fixing the clocks inside a French train station. The clocks had been the purview of Hugo's drunken, loutish, Uncle (a barely recognizable Ray Winstone). Hugo took over when his Uncle disappeared. Since his Uncle's disappearance, Hugo has subsisted for some time without adult supervision. His means of gathering provisions is to steal them; something that has him on the radar of the train station's nasty head of security (Sascha Baron Cohen). Hugo steals more than just food however, and it's on a non-food related excursion that Hugo comes close to getting caught.

Hugo has only one possession, a strange robot-like figure that is nearly as big as he is. This automaton, as his father had called it, was once owned by a strange old magician and assisted with fabulous stage theatrics. Hugo is convinced that if he can fix the automaton that it may be the key to a message from his late father. While trying to steal parts for his automaton Hugo crosses the toy shop operator, Mr. George (Ben Kingsley). As punishment Mr. George takes Hugo's beloved notebook that once belonged to Hugo's father. In order to get it back Hugo enlists the help of Mr. George's adopted God-Daughter, Isabelle (Chloe Moretz), and together they begin a grand adventure.

Ben Kingsley is the key to Hugo. The Oscar winner for "Gandhi" plays one of the seminal figures of world film-making, George Melies. Hugo and Isabelle have no idea who he is but once they discover his legacy Hugo transforms into a celebration of the legendary director and the magic of the movies. How brilliant is Martin Scorsese's work in Hugo? He made me forget that the film was initially made and released in 3D. I am not a fan of 3D, never have been. I often argued, when 3D was regaining prominence in the early 2000s, that it is not a filmmaker's tool but a studio tool used to extract extra ticket buying dollars from the already over-taxed movie goer.

For me, Martin Scorsese was the first director to use 3D in a way that felt artistic and, more importantly, when Hugo was released in theaters, Scorsese took great care to craft visuals in 3D that weren't distracting or extraneous but rather expanded upon the beauty of Scorsese's lovingly chosen setting, a Paris train station set that Scorsese and his team lovingly crafted for the film. Hugo is one of the finest achievements of Martin Scorsese's legendary career because of his remarkable attention to detail and dedication to form, even while working with such a tacky device as 3D. Hugo is a work of art masquerading as a family adventure movie.

Hugo is also a loving fable about the movies and their unique and wondrous history, a history we must work to recognize and treasure. Hugo reminds us that the work of George Melies was nearly lost forever with the outbreak of World War 1. Without the painstaking efforts of characters like the ones depicted in Hugo the work of George Melies and many other old masters would have been lost forever. Leave it to Scorsese to sneak a message about the importance of film preservation into his big budget family movie. With the Film Foundation, Scorsese has worked to restore a remarkable number of movies from Hollywood and World Cinema past.

That's just one of the many amazing things about Hugo. With his talent, artistry and dedication, the storytelling of Hugo is so extraordinary that Scorsese can offer not only a glorious, kid-friendly adventure in an adult world, but also a wonderful homage to classic filmmakers, and a call to arms to defend and protect old movies all without stretching too far afield from making a blockbuster piece of family entertainment. There are simply not enough superlatives to describe how great Hugo is. Even in a career that features numerous gritty, blood spattered masterpieces, it's Scorsese's loving appreciation of film past and the innocence of youth in Hugo that stands out for me among the finest work of his career. Hugo is the most unlikely masterpiece in a masterful career.

On the next I Hate Critics Movie Review Podcast, myself and co-hosts Bob Zerull and Jeff Lassiter will be delivering our Scorsese Top 5s and we will be discussing Scorsese's latest epic, Killers of the Flower Moon, an extraordinary historic drama that throws a much needed light on the horrors inflicted on the Osage people of Oklahoma. Killers of the Flower Moon is in theaters as I write this and I do hope that audiences will give the film a chance. It's a tremendous piece of work, fitting the Scorsese canon of films such as Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas. Be sure to share your Scorsese Top 5 on our I Hate Critics Movie Review Podcast Facebook page to be part of our show.

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