Some may scoff at Martin Scorsese, the street-smart auteur, the bard of the Mafia, directing “Hugo,” a heartwarming tale of a crafty orphan in 1930s Paris. I don’t think it’s a big stretch at all. Gangster movies and children’s movies are popular genres that always attract lazy, uninspired directors who dig into the same bag of tricks to elicit memories of better films past. If anyone can get us to care about both kinds of movies, it’s Scorsese, who possesses an oversized, kinetic vision.
Like Scorsese’s masterpieces (“Goodfellas,” “Raging Bull”), “Hugo” enchants you with both its bigness — the beginning swoop through a bustling Paris train station to the clock Hugo calls home is mesmerizing in any dimension — and its appreciation of little moments, like a child watching her first movie. Scorsese doesn’t want to make a great movie for kids; he wants to create a great movie, period. And he’s done that by paying tribute to the past.
Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) resides at the aforementioned train station, or more specifically, inside its giant clock. Running the clock was the responsibility of his drunken uncle and guardian (Ray Winstone), but he’s gone. So, Hugo lays low. He runs the clock and steals food along with gears and springs. With those various parts, Hugo rebuilds the lone memento from his happier past: An old automaton that he is certain holds a message from his beloved father (Jude Law).
Hugo consults his father’s notebook for hints on building the automaton. The notebook is snatched by one of Hugo’s perpetual victims, a bitter storeowner (Ben Kingsley), who seethes over its contents. The old man eventually softens, allowing Hugo and the merchant’s brainy, adventure-hungry charge, Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz), to learn more about mysterious mechanical man. What ensues is a caper involving a missing key, stunning library research (courtesy of bibliophile Christopher Lee) and a daft, socially awkward station inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen).
This is no shiny distraction. For all of “Hugo’s” keen special effects and 3-D status, Scorsese and screenwriter John Logan spend considerable time on the story and the characters. (Butterfield and Moretz, both veterans, are wonderful here. They’re plucky and spirited and come with no catchphrases in their arsenal.) The movie’s goal is to show that what keeps us entertained — great story, engaging characters, a dash of spectacle — never changes. It’s no coincidence that “The Wizard of Oz” still plays on TV or that young audiences discover the magic of “Casablanca” every year. The story doubles as a love letter to the magic of books and movies (think Harold Lloyd and beyond) in their purest forms. “Hugo” can be placed in that group. It’s entertaining without an agenda.
Scorsese, a film lover if ever there was one, uses “Hugo” to honor the overlooked aspects of movies — imagination, passion and ancestry. Anything playing in a movie theater right now is just the latest chapter in a constantly evolving history. Regardless of cast, content or age, good movies feed the soul and create new memories. Scorsese doesn’t just provide that lesson in “Hugo,” he creates his own glorious, rollicking example.
Rating: W W W W
Read more of Pete's cinematic musings at whatpeteswatching.blogspot.com or follow @PeteCroatto on Twitter.
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