IF YOU EVER WONDER WHERE YOUR DREAMS COME FROM, LOOK AROUND... THIS IS WHERE THEY'RE MADE...

Rating: 7/10 (3 June 2020)

PROS:
~The movie is a love letter to early cinema. It is for the people who love cinema and their desire to learn the process of how a movie is made. Hugo actually pays homage to the first movies ever created and how these affected the subsequent creators (the train scene from the movie 'Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat' by the Lummiere brothers is an early version of the 3-D technique). It tells the amazing story of pioneer filmmaker Georges Melies (Ben Kinglsey) and the flashback scene about his accomplishments (especially the movie 'A Trip to the Moon') is captivating and magical.
~Asa Butterfield is decent as young Hugo, a curious young boy determined to survive in a hard and cold world. Chloe Grace Moretz brilliantly portrays a bright, energetic Isabelle. Both of them makes you feel like a kid again when your thoughts were more imaginative and you always looked for an adventure. The movie is actually a reflection of Scorsese's childhood.
~The film points out that creative people sometimes need a push in the back from someone else in order to realise what they're worth. Ben Kingsley gives the best performance in the whole movie. This push is also obvious through the secondary characters such as the one played Sasha Baron Cohen who has feelings for a certain woman (played by Emily Mortimer) but his insecurities keeps him away.
~Martin Scorsese shines as always from the chair of the director. The opening track shot with the camera panning over Paris and ending to the train station is breathtaking. The production design is monumental and especially the detail in the clock tower with the metallic gears and the clockwork is remarkable. Furthermore, the costumes and the music capture perfectly the era of 1930s.
CONS:
~It isn't clear where the film is aimed at. It is supposed to be a child's adventure but eventually this adventure is quickly pushed to the background for more educational themes. As a result, elements like the slapstick humor -mostly in the beginning- are totally unfitting.
~The subplots of the movie aren't interesting enough. The secondary characters are entertaining but the overall film feels incoherent at times because of them. For example, what is the point of Hugo's chasing by the Cohen's character?
~There are some moments -the more dramatic ones- where the acting by Butterfield and Moretz is wooden.