An elegant and enchanting film that appeals to the child in all of us.

Rating: 10/10 (12 August 2012)

From it's very first page, Brian Selznick's 'The Invention of Hugo Cabret' (2007) promised to be no ordinary work of fiction. The award-winning book was a gorgeous pastiche of words, illustrations, photographs and movie stills. It begins with a series of beautiful pencil drawings that transport us through a busy Paris railway station, and towards a giant clock, where behind lurks our hero, 13-year-old orphan Hugo Cabret.
This sequence is translated beautifully - and in groundbreaking 3D, nonetheless - in Martin Scorsese's tour-de-force adaptation, simply titled HUGO, which promises to be no ordinary cinematic experience, and indeed one of the best films of 2011.
HUGO is unlike anything Martin Scorsese has ever directed and yet it seems like the film he was born to make. The kid-friendly source material could easily have attracted the likes of French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Tim Burton and - dare I say it - Steven Spielberg; but, like any great artist, Scorsese makes the property his own, and with his formidable talent, produces an inspiring and sophisticated celebration of film history and the magic of cinema.
HUGO is a film that has to be seen in 3D. Much like James Cameron with his 2009 hit AVATAR, Scorsese pushes the boundaries of the gimmicky medium. The 3D not only enhances Robert Richardson's beautiful cinematography or Dante Ferretti's rich production design; it heightens the audience's involvement in this very poignant story and their understanding of the characters and their world.
The cast is simply brilliant. Asa Butterfield, who made a solid debut in THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS, gives a focused and engaging performance as our title character, while Chloe Grace Moretz (Hit Girl in KICK-ASS) is charming as Hugo's wide-eyed, bookish friend, Isabelle. Sir Ben Kingsley delivers a superbly touching performance as early film pioneer Georges Melies, and Sacha Baron Cohen is a delight as the malicious, yet bumbling Station Inspector, clearly patterned after such slapstick performers of the silent era as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd. In fact, the character's awkward romance with a beautiful flower seller (Emily Mortimer) reminded this reviewer of a similar love in Chaplin's CITY LIGHTS (1931). The rest of the supporting cast is made up of some of today's finest British talent: Jude Law, Ray Winstone, Richard Griffiths, Frances del la Tour and the great Sir Christopher Lee. Each of these performers are impressive in their limited screen time.
HUGO has been labeled as Scorsese's love letter to cinema and it shows in every scene. There are homages to silent film classics ARRIVAL OF A TRAIN A LA CIOTAT (1897) and Harold Lloyd's SAFETY LAST! (1923) and, at the heart of the film, there is a fantastic montage of silent cinema, expertly assembled by Scorsese's regular editor Thelma Schoonmaker to Camille Saint-Saens' 'Danse Macabre'. But for this reviewer, the highlight of the film was Scorsese's recreation of the history and career of Georges Melies, a 'cinemagician' who employed trick effects and elaborate set designs in his own glass studio, to transport his audience to worlds of fantasy and make-believe.
At a time where big-budget 3D romps featuring dancing penguins or globe-trotting Belgian reporters, raises skepticism towards the 'family' film sub-genre, HUGO provides relief. It is nothing short of a masterpiece, an elegant and enchanting film that appeals to the child in all of us. At the end of the film, Melies invites his audience to come dream with him. Will you come dream with Marty?