Fresh Reviews:"Hugo"

Rated PG for some mild violence.

* * * * * * * * * *

Of all the directors you could name, which one would seem least likely to make a movie aimed at younger audiences and families? Well, okay, I suppose it would probably be David Fincher, but not too far after that you'd certainly have to think of Martin Scorsese. And yet, the man who brought us "Taxi Driver", "Raging Bull" and :Goodfellas" has indeed now given us one of the most charming, absolutely enchanting family films of recent years... and it's also one of his best, most personal, and thoroughly passionate movies. Who would have thought?

It's the story of Hugo Cabret, a young boy of about 13 who lives on his own in a forgotten apartment in the Paris version of Grand Central Station in the 1930's. His father, a clock maker, had been experimenting to see if he could activate a mysterious mechanical man he'd found when he died, and Hugo is continuing his work, while also continuing to keep the clocks in the train station running on time (the job formerly held by his uncle, who's disappeared). Hugo sneaks out from time to time to steal parts he may need for the project and what he needs to survive. But when he finally forms some alliances and friendships outside his private world and succeeds in animating the creature, the result is something nobody could have expected, something that makes Hugo's story more than just an adventure.

Brian Selznick's original book, "The Invention Of Hugo Cabret", is a true wonder... filled with long passages of text that give way to pages upon pages of illustrations in a kind of blend of novel and graphic novel that brings the reader into the story and its time & place in a way no conventional way of telling the tale could. Scorsese makes brilliant use of his classic, legendary "camera that never stops moving" to recreate precisely the novel's swooping, rushing visuals and unique style, which, come to think of it, was pretty cinematic to begin with. He recreates Paris in the 1930's and the genuine enchanted world that the station seems to be in an utterly thorough way I don't think any other director could manage. He takes us on one of the most exciting adventures in a children's movie that has been on screen of late without ever taking us out of the world as we know it, and that's no easy task.

Now, I should perhaps mention here that although I've seen nearly all the movies of the past 6 or 7 years that have been released in 3-D, "Avatar" has until now been the ONLY one I've actually seen IN 3-D. But Scorsese, as I'd hoped, does not use the technique as a mere gimmick: he uses it much as Cameron did, to immerse us totally in a world vastly different from our own, and to add the touch of enchantment of Selznick's novel that 2-D wouldn't have quite captured. And I should add that technically, the quality of the 3-D is brilliant... maybe even better than "Avatar". And he's directed a great cast with his customer flair: newcomer Asa Butterfield is touching and funny as Hugo, Chloe Grace Moretz of "Kick-Ass" and :Let Me In" continues her path to becoming the next Jodie Foster (and tries her fist accent, a convincing British one); there's a nicely layered performance by Ben Kingsley; and a very welcome role for the great British horror star Christopher Lee as a helpful book store owner. The surprise, though, is Sascha Baron Cohen, Borat himself, as the security guard at the station, who is constantly trying to catch Hugo. At first seeming to be the pure villain of the piece, the script reveals a real sympathetic sweetness underneath, something Cohen has never played before, and he makes the most of it.

What really makes this film rise above the norm most of all, though, is what it eventually turns into. Make no mistake, it's a wonderful and magical children's adventure for sure. But ultimately it turns into a song of praise for the movies themselves, particularly the pioneers of the very earliest movies, who created the magic nobody had ever seen before and made dreams come alive on screen. A very few previous films... "Cinema Paradiso" comes to mind... have touched upon the ability of film to take us places no other art form can, but Scorsese, the dedicated and passionate film historian and film preservationist, has dedicated his life to preserving our movie heritage like few others ever have, and when handed a story that fits so perfectly with his own interests he gives us an amazing tale of what movies can do.

In spite of the fact that the jacket copy on Selznick's book keeps referring to it as cinematic, and indeed it is, I would have had very mixed emotions at the possibilities for a movie version based on the work of most of the directors who would have been likely to tackle it. I'm not certain if this was a project that Scorsese himself initiated or if it was handed to him by the studio, but whoever was responsible for Scorsese being the one to direct this film: thank you. There couldn't have been a better match of director and movie. We actually have a family film in 3-D that DOESN'T pander to the lowest common denominator and that does complete justice to a truly amazing book. And, as I've stated before, is a real example of the magic of the movies. Scorsese probably won't be making more movies like this... he doesn't like to get into a pattern of the same kind of thing these days... but I'm very glad he did this one.