Review: 'Hugo'

Film: Hugo
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Chloe Grace Moretz, Sasha Baron Cohen, Helen McCrory, Jude Law
Rating: ****1/2

Hugo is the story of young Hugo Cabret (Butterfield), the orphaned son of a watch-maker (Law), whose home is the vibrant Paris station in the 1930s. Filling in for his only living guardian, his deadbeat uncle, winding up all the clocks in the station. While the bumbling station master Gustave (Cohen) and his faithful mutt cracking down on stray orphans, Hugo is forced to live in utter discretion.

The only company that the lad has is an automaton (a mechanical man who is rendered functional by clockwork) his father was trying to restore before his tragic demise in a freak fire. It his desire to complete the machine in the hope that it will convey a message from his long lost father that compels him to steal odds and ends from a toy-maker in the station referred to by his god daughter Isabelle (Moretz) as Papa Georges (Kingsley).

But there is more to Georges than meets the eye and Hugo and his first human companion the bookish Isabelle are to embark upon an adventure when his automaton points the way to Georgess fantastic previous life from which he chooses to hide.

Adapted by the book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, Hugo sees Martin Scorsese at the helm of a splendid family friendly extravaganza for once. The film's visual look justifies its Academy Award win in the technical categories. With its polished, storybook-like visuals of the early 20th century France, particularly the bustling station with it curious shops, buskers and funny commuters, the production design and Robert Richardsons cinematography couldn't have created a more immersive world.

And yes, the 3D is actually quite superlative.  The music of Howard Shore, too, also plays an enormous role in setting up this universe.

Like a character from one of the directors' darker films, Hugo is about a character in loveless isolation who doesn't quite know how he, a cog, belongs in the clockwork of life.  One other interesting aspect of the script is how sympathy is subtlety aroused for the seemingly cold-hearted Clouseauesque villain Gustave.

Cineastes should take special note that film also pays loving tribute to Georges Melies who is renowned for A Trip to the Moon and hundreds of other films which pioneered the use of special effects in cinema. And the topic of film restoration, a cause championed by the director himself finds its self into the story.

Kingsley is great as a former artist who has long since lost his acclaim and is shunned and forgotten by the world at large. Butterfield and Moretz are adorable with the former's character embodying a certain sadness and the latter's passion, enthusiasm and hope.

The supporting characters, too, are memorable thanks to the brief but powerful performances such as those by Christopher Lee as the librarian, who is initially judgmental of the urchin. Cohen, as mentioned earlier exhibits a ludicrousness that conceals tragedy.

Hugo is a truly sumptuous visual treat with a simple, but heart-warming story.

Even those who haven't heard of the historical Melies, a former magician who single-handedly came up with every trick in the book in filmmaking, will be left spell-bound by the reverential manner in which latest technology is harnessed to emphasise the salience of his contributions to the field. This magical film is a must-watch for one and all.