Hugo (U)
HUGO will tickle your fancy as winter creeps in, a heart-warming film for all ages that’s not what you expect from the great director Martin Scorsese, the man who brought us the likes of Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas.
It’s happy, it’s sad, there’s a detective story, action and the innocence of young romance, it’s funny – and it’s fun, with the added joys of a great cast and a tip of the hat to film history.
In the late 20’s, in Paris, the orphaned Hugo (Asa Butterfield – also excellent as the Boy With Striped Pyjamas) is a lonely child who lives hidden behind the walls of the central railway station, keeping the clocks working.
Hugo is trying to fix a mysterious automaton left to him by his father (Jude Law), a watchmaker who taught Hugo how to fix all sorts of gadgets before he died in a fire in his workshop. Hugo steals parts for his project from the bitter and cranky toy shop owner Papa George (Ben Kingsley). But there’s more to Papa George than meets the eye.
Add in the cruel station inspector Sacha Baron Cohen, and Hugo’s alcoholic uncle (Ray Winstone) who returns to haunt his nephew.
Hugo, which is cinematically beautiful, is also one of those films that can entertain on different levels for different ages.
