Martin Scorsese’s ‘Hugo’ is one of the most unexpected and unusual films released this year. For one, this is a children’s adventure movie, which is the exact opposite of Scorsese’s previous films, such as ‘Shutter Island’, ‘The Departed’, ‘The Aviator’ and ‘Goodfellas’. Also, this film is the Academy Award-winning director’s first attempt at the popular 3D format. What makes ‘Hugo’ so surprising, however, is the level of maturity portrayed in such a children’s movie, as well as the film’s transition into a story about the magic of movies.

The titular character is the film’s hero, portrayed by an impressive Asa Butterfield (‘Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang’). Hugo’s adventure involves a mysterious automaton, an automated man his father (portrayed by Jude Law) discovered at an abandoned circus. Hugo seems to be part of a family full of handymen, as his father is a clockmaker and his uncle is a watchmaker who operates all of the clocks at a train station in Paris.

This Parisian train station is the setting of the majority of the film. When Hugo’s father dies in a fire and his drunken uncle disappears, Hugo lives in the colorful train station and operates the clocks instead of living at an orphanage. His life revolves around stealing food, as well as toys and gadgets from a toy store located at the station. When the owner of the toy store, Georges Melies (Ben Kingsley, from ‘Shutter Island’), catches Hugo in the act of stealing his toys, the mystery surrounding the broken automaton begins to unravel.

The first half of the film is devoted to the adventures of Hugo and his new friend, Isabelle (Chloe Moretz, from ‘Kick-Ass‘), who happens to be the goddaughter of Mr. Melies. Isabelle has a heart-shaped key in the form of a necklace, and the key mysteriously fits the key hole that starts up the automaton. Hugo believes the heart-shaped key is the key (no pun intended) to his father’s last message to him; he believes the message is programmed within the automaton, which can write messages on paper when it’s properly operating.

The second half of ‘Hugo’ is a love letter to cinema. The link between Isabelle’s key and Hugo’s automaton is discovered in the form of Melies. Many flashback sequences dedicate themselves to Melies’ past work as a magician-turned-filmmaker. The film’s version of Georges Melies is based on the extraordinary real life magician-filmmaker of the same name. Melies is depicted as the man who invented the first form of special effects and the first film studio. The black-and-white Melies films in ‘Hugo’ are mesmerizing and wonderful to watch, and their importance to the aged Melies and his loving wife, Jeanne d’Alcy (Helen McCrory, ‘Harry Potter’), is emotional.

Having seen the film in regular 2D instead of the intended 3D, I cannot critique the film’s use of the popular gimmick. But from what I’ve read from nearly every professional review of ‘Hugo’ I can safely assume that Scorsese’s use of 3D is very well-done. Many 3D films are either post-converted to 3D or just very bad 3D, but this isn’t the case with ‘Hugo’. Even though I experienced the film in 2D, there were several shots that were still breathtaking, so I can imagine what the 3D experience would be like (especially the opening shot of the film, where the camera flies through the Parisian train station). There’s one scene in  particular that involves stacks of steam and smoke coming from the ground, and it seemed like the steam was actually in the room instead of just on screen. It’s an awe-inspiring moment, especially for a 2D experience.

‘Hugo’ is a surprisingly wonderful film that commemorates the magic of cinema, and it portrays the life and influence of one of the most important filmmakers in history. Director Martin Scorsese and screenwriter John Logan’s (‘Rango‘) adaptation of “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” is a thoroughly enjoyable adventure film that features an impressive level of maturity and emotional depth meant for older audiences. This is a film packed with many surprises, whether it’s in its use of 3D or unexpected plot. But should we really be surprised by such a consistently great filmmaker like Scorsese?

Three and a half out of four Kents.

Extra Notes:

• The film also features minor characters played by some familiar faces within Hugo’s story, including Inspector Gustav (Sacha Baron Cohen, ‘Borat’ & ‘Bruno’), Lisette (Emily Mortimer, ‘Our Idiot Brother‘), Madame Emile (Frances de la Tour, ‘Harry Potter’), and Monsieur Frick (Richard Griffiths, ‘Harry Potter’).