Hugo (2011)

Martin Scorsese making a film for children, starring children. Surely not?

"Hugo" is wonderfully inventive in design, both the scenography and the details, not to mention the making of film as it portrays it. Scorsese lays heavy on with the filters to illustrate the different moods, particularly the illuminated yellow to emphasise how Hugo sees the world he feels he's not a part of but desperately wants into. 

For a children's movie, it's imperative to create a warmth without it becoming cheesy. Scorsese surprisingly excels at this, though a lot of the credit must go to the cast. Jude Law only has a few scenes, but he is pitch perfect here. Special mention to Michael Stuhlbarg as well. 

The children are truly wonderful, with Moretz a particular delight. She really was an outstanding actress from a young age. Such a range of emotion and ability to create feelings in others, are rare even for adult actors. Of course, they need to be good, as they are pretty much front and centre for the last two thirds of the film. Sacha Baron Cohen is the (forgettable) menacing threat that need to be a part of all films for the young. He steals a bit heavily from Crabtree in 'Allo 'Allo, but since that is a rather obscure character to most, I'll let that one slide. As for Ben Kingsley, he is stoically magnificent. 

Scorsese leaves a lot of the suspense to be a result of marvel and wondrousness. All helped by a just intricate enough script for the children to follow the breadcrumbs of the mystery. There's also the matter of his wonderful use of angles and sound (or more notably, lack thereof) to underline and deepen the emotions of some of the film's better scenes. None perhaps better than Kingsley crouching over his old drawings. 

As with most films for the younger crowd, parts of the plot are fixed with some nifty coincidences, and a few shortcuts. You'll probably be too busy feeling good and smitten by the marvelling of the actors, though.

The director's biggest achievement, however, is to make you marvel at the sight of very, very old technology. And that, as they say, is saying something.

8/10