Martin Scorsese is often considered one of the most influential filmmakers of all-time, some even go as far to claim that he is the world's greatest living filmmaker. I'm not sure anyone will really argue that point, after all Scorsese is renowned for his encyclopedic knowledge of film history and his mastery behind the camera. While I've often been left emotionally cold by some of his films, the ones that actually managed to move me are genuine masterpieces, and perhaps another one of those films is coming in his next directorial effort, The Invention of Hugo Cabret.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret is surprisingly enough, a kid's film based upon a bestselling children's book. I am actually excited about the potential here, someone like Scorsese who is known for making gritty pieces of cinema, doing something that feels more as if it should be a Spielberg film. I was so curious about this project that I ran out and bought the book by Brian Selznick, and I absolutely loved it.
The book tells the story of orphan Hugo Cabret, who lives within the walls of a 1931 Parisian train station, tending the clocks in the station for his deceased Uncle who was the timekeeper. Hugo is a natural at fixing mechanical things, and the story is touch mystery, a little adventure, and has a ton of heart. Hugo is on a mission to rebuild an automaton (a mechanical man) that his Father found before he died, and Hugo believes that if he can rebuild it, the automaton will reveal a message from his Father. All the while, Hugo's path intertwines with a curmudgeonly old toy salesman who works in the station and the toy salesman's goddaughter, Isabelle, who joins Hugo in his mission to rebuild the machine.
It is such an intriguing book and tells a fascinating story. It's not really a novel, but more of a chapter book with tons of pictures. The story intertwines into the worlds of film history, highlighting the silent film director Georges Melies, and for this importance on film history, I can see why Scorsese is a nice fit for the story. Though, the book is already a cinematic tome. While it is in excess of 500 pages, the book flies by. It is a very easy read, one that can be done in a few hours, and that is because it is kind of part graphic novel. There are sometimes, where an entire sequence is told like a film. There is no dialogue, just images, pictures drawn by author Selznick that can often link together into 10-20 page segments acting like storyboards for a film. It's so fascinating, I have never read a book quite like it. But aside from that, the story is so fascinating and rich in film history, as a film enthusiast, I adored it.
The film is scheduled to start shooting early this Summer, and its cast is already being lined up. For the lead of Hugo, Scorsese cast Asa Butterfield from The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, which I believe to be pretty pitch perfect casting for the role. Butterfield has to be the heart-and-soul of this film and he proved that with the above mentioned film. Then in the role of his friend, Isabelle, actress Chloe Moretz, from (500) Days of Summer and Hit-Girl in the upcoming Kick-Ass (which I can't wait to see by the way), was cast, and while I think she is a marvelous young actress, I do have some trepidation about a French accent on her behalf, her being American. Rounding out the principle roles is Ben Kingsley as the toy salesman, which is just amazing casting if you ask me, and Sacha Baron Cohen for the station inspector, the bad guy in the film if there is one. While I'm scratching my head a bit about Cohen, he should be fine in the role, and besides, it's such a small part to begin with.
Regardless to say, Scorsese has assembled a fine cast for this adaptation which is now one of my more anticipated films of the next two years. If the film was in the hands of any less of a filmmaker, I'd be worried, but thanks to Scorsese's vast knowledge of film history (which will benefit the film in droves), and his visual mastery behind the camera, I have very little trepidation that he will transform a book that is already so visually moving and make it into a good film. Now I just hope Scorsese can make the heart of the story come through in the film so that it can become a classic of children's cinema, like Harry Potter.
Bottom line is, go out and read this book now if you like film, you wont be disappointed. Then you can join me in my anticipation.
No comments:
Post a Comment