Hugo - 28th February 2012

If you mention Martin Scorcese you naturally imagine Italian-American gangster type drama littered with violence and strong language. The knowledge that he was making a chidren-friendly film and in 3D certainly took me by surprise.

"Hugo" is a young orphaned child living and (secretly) fixing the clocks at Paris station in the 1920's. A chance encounter with an ageing stallholder allows the current classic film-maker to open up the world of the forgotten turn of the century classic film-maker Georges Melieres.

For someone who has spent most of his life making gritty, realistic dramas you got the feeling Scorcese was like the kid who had been given the keys to the toy box. The intricacy of the station scenes are stunning with the huge clcokwork mechanism contrasting with the intimacies of the personal vignettes. I thoroughly enjoyed the
unexpected bonus of seeing so many British actors ( generally unused in films) eg Richard Griffiths and Frances De La Tour etc.

You can tell this is made by an old-style director as this is a film that takes it's time. The beginning is quite gentle as it introduces you to all the characters and sets up all the stories that will coincide later. Though " The Artist" has deservedly won critical acclaim for its lack of dialogue, "Hugo" is in similar vein. Obviously, both are set in Paris in the past, use music as an integral part of the story-telling and have a feel-good atmosphere about them.

All good movies need drama and "Hugo's" is provided in the unexpected form of Sacha Baron Cohen as an officious station attendant. He's not everyone's cup of tea but he does have a film presence and showed hitherto hidden emotional depths when his family and war-ravaged past was revealed.

After a slightly over-acted start Ben Kingsley improved as the film developed but it was the performance of Asa Butterfield in the title role that was the most important. If you don't care for his wellbeing you won't emotionally invest any time or time or involvement in the film. He mesmerises you will be extremely blue eyes whihc I finally realised I recognised as Mordred from BBC's Merlin.

"Hugo" is a triumph of film-making and adds yet another chapter to Scorcese's remarkable career.