THE AISLE SEAT - by Mike McGranaghan
"I RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE: HUGO"
What follows is the second part of a collaboration with Sean Ewington of 2dreviews, in which we select a movie we disagree on and discuss our ideas thoughtfully and respectfully. To read Sean's counter to the one you are about to read, click here.
Martin Scorsese's Hugo was my pick for the best film of 2011. I had trouble talking people into seeing it, though. The advertising played up the “youth adventure” part of the plot. There were lots of shots of a young boy running through the grungy clockworks of a Paris train station, while being chased by the station inspector. A few brief glimpses of a rusty old automaton were in there too. Truth be told, the advertising made the movie look like City of Ember, Bridge to Terebithia, The Spiderwick Chronicles, or any of the other young-scamps-having-an-adventure movies that have come down the pike in the last decade. The true nature of the story was well-hidden. On one hand, it was nice to have a trailer that didn't give everything away;on the other, the public may have had an incorrect impression of what the movie really is.
Without getting into spoiler territory, Hugo's plot eventually incorporates elements having to do with the birth of cinema – specifically the use of special effects to give audiences something new. There's additionally an overriding theme about the importance of preserving film. As I said in my original review, Hugo is a master filmmaker's gift to children. Scorsese arguably knows more about cinema than any other living person, and here he tries to impart some things about it to a young audience. He teaches them why movies (especially “old” ones) matter, as well as why we should never treat films as disposable commodities. It's a valuable lesson from the best teacher one could ever ask for.
At the time of its release, there was speculation as to whether children would actually like Hugo. Some argued vehemently that they would not. I don't agree. If I'd seen this movie at age ten, I'd have loved it. Heck, I love it now. Scorsese makes sure to incorporate the lesson in a fun, exciting way that speaks to kids. Anyone who cherishes cinema knows that discovering its depth is part of what makes us fall even further under its spell. Slightly older kids who see Hugo will delight in that process. Adults will dig the movie too. While they may already be familiar with the ideas Scorsese is imparting, it is hard to resist the intense passion with which he presents them.
Good filmmaking is about inviting the audience in, absorbing them in the subject matter, whether it's something they'd normally care about or not. Hugo does this brilliantly. Entertaining and enlightening, I think it stands as one of the best movies-about-movies ever made. And I really hope more people – of all ages - will see it.
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