The things dreams are made of.....

Rating: 10/10 (4 December 2011)

Scorceses first foray into 'childrens' movies is his best since the Departed, and gives Kingsley his best performance since 'Sexy Beast'.
The film is a love affair of all things cinema, but the Auteur doesn't let you in on this until late in the second act.
The titular character lives in a dreamlike train station, keeping the clocks to the correct time, watching the everyday lives of the people who work there, and trying to stay one step ahead of the station agent.
The events that led Hugo to live there are tragic though. His father was killed in a fire and his uncle took him into his 'care'. Before the tragedy, Hugo and his father were in the middle of restoring a clockwork man, which when working, had the ability to write.
But despite all this, Hugo strives to complete the restoration, despite stealing parts from the toymaker. But one thing is missing, a key shaped like a heart, that will reveal everything and maybe a little more about the everyday people who work on the station....
The film is flawless, everything you would expect from a film released at this time of year, but with the added class of Scorcese. Again the man has tackled different forms of cinema (3D) a has given the film something other 3D movies don't give, intimidation, warmth, a personality.
From the Burtonesque external sets, to the 'in your face' moment when the station agent asks the two children what they are doing, the 3D is an important part of the film and in some cases even the narrative. This maybe because Scorcese is saying 'yes it's all good and well using 3D' but look what they did when all this was fresh, and people were not bothered about budgets and reaping profit'.
It's a decidedly heavy subject for young children, but my six year old was dazzled at the scenery, cinematography, and appeared to be awe-inspired at the footage of the old movies.
The storytelling is amazing, you are constantly thinking 'where are they going with this' but as the narration explains, the answer is all in the key. Kingsley is amazing as the pioneer, and I wouldn't be surprised if he is up for an award sometime soon.
Moretz and Butterfield are too excellent as the children on the quest, and look comfortable acting alongside veterans such as Lee, Lae, Winstone, and Mortimer.
Cohen fares well, his conversations with the chief are one of the highlights of the film, but he comes across a little too Clouseau and sounds like Boyce from Only fools and Horses.
But believe me, this is one of the years best movies, and has flawless narration and is beautiful to look act, whilst educational for young ones too, teaching them that simplicity can be good too.