Hugo deserves its Oscar nominations for Best Achievement in Art Direction:Francesca Lo Schiavo (set decorator), Dante Ferretti (production designer); Best Achievement in Costume Design: Sandy Powell; Best Achievement in Film Editing: Thelma Schoonmaker; and Martin Scorsese’s direction (though it is not his best).
Film fans of all kinds will want to own this one just for the celebration of Georges Méliès, the pioneering French filmmaker who basically invented visual effects in movies. Scenes showing HIS films being made and then projected are simply amazing.
The story and the adapted screenplay are a little wobbly and unfocused but not enough to keep us from enjoying a first-ever Scorsese for-the-whole-family movie. It might have benefited by shifting the point of view from Hugo (Asa Butterfield) to Isabelle (Chloë Grace Moretz).
The world of the story in a miraculous train station and locations in Paris in the 1930s makes enough magic to give this movie “classic” status. Look for the “silent movies” within the film – stories involving minor characters that are told visually, without dialogue. And kudos to Sacha Baron Cohen for his portrayal of the station’s policeman; he provides humor without making his character stupid OR heartless.
Watch the trailer here.
This review was written by Howard Allen and LR Simon as part of our ongoing series on the 84th Academy Awards. Hugo was nominated for eleven Oscars, including Best Picture.
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