Hugo (2011)
I remember hearing good things about Hugo when it first released and expecting a good movie when I first decided to check it out. After all, the book was a huge success (sadly I still have never read it so I can't give my thoughts on it) and it is a Martin Scorsese film which does carry some merit. Set in 1931 Paris, Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) is a young boy who lives alone in the train station keeping up maintenance on its clocks and avoiding the rude Inspector Gustave Dasté (Sacha Baron Cohen) who loves sending children to the orphanage. On the side, he also has begun to repair a robot left behind by his father, despite not knowing what it does Hugo feels like if he can fix this robot he will learn something about his dad. One day though he gets caught stealing parts from Papa Georges (Ben Kingsley) which starts a chain of events that will bring old secrets and dreams to life. Like I said going into this film I expected a good film, though what I got surprised me. This is a movie I truly love, it is so well made and has such a clear passion behind it that I can't help but get sucked into this world and the magic of it.
So much of that is through the setting of this film, this train station, and city at this time was filled with real magic at least according to this film. You can feel the creativity in the air and the location is so much fun to just be in. All the side characters come together to create such a fun cast to follow as they go about their everyday life and visually especially for coming out in 2011 the effects and production design both worked extremely well. Without giving too much away about where the film goes I will also say how this film decides to use movies and the magic of the early film is also really captivating and effective. Early film has this wonderful sense of creativity and imagination to them that clearly Martin Scorsese has a strong love for this era and these ideas which perfectly come through. It is so easy to lose yourself in these elements of the film due to how much passion they have behind them easily being one of my favorite parts of the film.
The magic also comes from the acting which across the board is also really wonderful. A young Asa Butterfield plays our lead Hugo and I think he absolutely knocks it out of the park, he comes across as so genuine and sweet that you can't help but root for him, the same goes for Chloë Grace Moretz who plays his friend Isabelle. Both have really strong chemistry with each other and easily were highlights of the film. Ben Kingsley also really impressed me with his work here, honestly, I tend to not be the biggest fan of his work but he gives such an emotionally powerful and well-crafted performance. This is a character that would have been easy to overplay from both a screenplay and performance perspective but they are able to put his character together in a way that never goes over the top or too far. It would be criminal to also not bring up how much pure joy Sacha Baron Cohen is in this film, unlike with Ben Kingsley's character Inspector Gustave Dasté is the perfect person to go over the top with and they push him to 110% which works so well. He is so funny and over the top but also has enough of an emotional backstory and heart to be an actual well-rounded character that adds more than just humor to the film.
The magic also comes from the acting which across the board is also really wonderful. A young Asa Butterfield plays our lead Hugo and I think he absolutely knocks it out of the park, he comes across as so genuine and sweet that you can't help but root for him, the same goes for Chloë Grace Moretz who plays his friend Isabelle. Both have really strong chemistry with each other and easily were highlights of the film. Ben Kingsley also really impressed me with his work here, honestly, I tend to not be the biggest fan of his work but he gives such an emotionally powerful and well-crafted performance. This is a character that would have been easy to overplay from both a screenplay and performance perspective but they are able to put his character together in a way that never goes over the top or too far. It would be criminal to also not bring up how much pure joy Sacha Baron Cohen is in this film, unlike with Ben Kingsley's character Inspector Gustave Dasté is the perfect person to go over the top with and they push him to 110% which works so well. He is so funny and over the top but also has enough of an emotional backstory and heart to be an actual well-rounded character that adds more than just humor to the film.
The directing and overall direction from Martin Scorsese is also really apparent in this film. I already mentioned how strong the visual effects and setting was in the film but the cinematography from Robert Richardson adds so much to it. Every time Robert Richardson is given a really unique and gorgeous environment to play around with, he produces just masterfull content and this is no different. He brings so much heart to these shots and is perfectly able to translate the childhood wonder and magic of this world into the camerawork. The movie is also just so well-paced as it dances around the various elements of the plot. On paper, this movie is balancing a lot of different plot elements and characters. Nearly everyone has some interesting level of depth to them and it would be so easy for the movie to lose itself in this big plot but it never does. It perfectly brings us into this world and these characters side plots and it never feels like it gets lost or goes in the wrong direction. It always has a clear direction to it which is nothing but impressive. The only small issue I have with this movie is that the plot is a bit too convenient at times. Out of everyone in this huge train station Hugo meets the perfect people at the perfect time again and again, the movie has enough heart and doesn't take itself so seriously that I think this causes a huge issue but sometimes it does feel like everything is happening a bit too perfectly.
Still though overall if it is not clear I love Hugo. Not only due to the clear passion and love that this movie has for early film which is something that I can connect to greatly but it is just so well made. The direction, cinematography, visual effects, etc... comes together so well to create such a well crafted technical movie. The characters are all a great joy but also all are interesting with smaller side plots that give them depth and make them more than just fun personalities. This movie has so much energy and heart to it yet also has those deeper emotions and themes that puts in on another level. This film truly is magical and I cannot wait to revisit it time and time again.
Still though overall if it is not clear I love Hugo. Not only due to the clear passion and love that this movie has for early film which is something that I can connect to greatly but it is just so well made. The direction, cinematography, visual effects, etc... comes together so well to create such a well crafted technical movie. The characters are all a great joy but also all are interesting with smaller side plots that give them depth and make them more than just fun personalities. This movie has so much energy and heart to it yet also has those deeper emotions and themes that puts in on another level. This film truly is magical and I cannot wait to revisit it time and time again.