A film that goes up in my estimation every time I see it.

Rating: 9/10 (17 February 2020)

Initially, tonally very different to the book, I balked against it as an adaptation, but now I admire it as a genuinely Heartwarming tale and as very much the perfect choice for Scorsese to express himself in the new medium of the time. The 3D ranks amongst the greatest I've seen and enhances every frame and even the story with its carefully constructed layers, complexity and depth. There's a beautiful staining of the light in some scenes like an old cell of film or a bleached image reproduction from a book. While the film is tonally very mixed, its technical work and its heart is good honest stuff; A touch of magic woven between the reality and sadness of artists forgotten in their time. And Asa Butterfield is really tremendous as a sensitive, emotional young boy.