Monday, April 16, 2012

Emma aime at the Movies: Hugo

The hubby and I finally got around to watching Hugo this week and although I loved the movie I have to say I was a little underwhelmed!

Hugo tells the story of Hugo Fabray. After a fire in the museum where he worked killed his father Hugo is sent to live with his (now absent) uncle at the Gare Du Nord where his is the clock-winder. The only memento of his father Hugo has is a broken automaton that his father found discarded at the museum. On his adventures, he meets with a shopkeeper, George Melies, who works in the train station and his adventure-seeking god-daughter. Hugo finds that they have a surprising connection to his father and the automaton, and he discovers it unlocks some memories the old man has buried inside regarding his past

The movie was visually stunning and I can see that it would be even more spectacualr in 3D. The two young characters were excellently acted and Ben Kingsley was awesome (as ever) as Georges Méliès. However I felt that the movie was too fast-paced and raced through the story-line without giving the audience a moment to savor the adventure. I can understand that there are some limitations for the writers to fit the whole plot of the book into a 2 hour movie but it seemed a shame that there wasn't a little more suspense.

I also felt that some of the side story-lines such as the Station Inspectors relationship with the Lisette the flower seller were not fully explored and at times the audience had to make assumptions as to what has happened. There are many examples of this is the after party for George Méliès where we see the Station Inspector with a new leg brace and come to the assumption that Hugo has made this and a friendship has formed between them.

Speaking of the Station Inspector I felt that the character didn't really fit with the movie. The part seemed over acted and almost comic.

So, in conclusion while I loved the magic of the movie, somehow it left we feel it should somehow be better!

Hugo is in cinemas now but you can check out the trailer here:
 

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