Buy it... if you admire Howard Shore's ability to juggle a multitude of distinctive themes, this time very effectively flavoring them in the genres of children's fantasy and historical drama with an affectionate French personality.

Avoid it... if the idea of hearing accordions in waltz movements causes you a headache without even hearing the result, because while Shore does flourish in his darker passages of intrigue and mystery, the French spirit is generally saturating.

Shore

Hugo: (Howard Shore) It didn't take long for Brian Selznick's hybrid picture book and novel of 2007, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret," to achieve a high profile cinematic adaptation produced and directed by Martin Scorsese in a departure from the usually heavy subject matters of his projects. The story of the book is one of formula fantasy for young minds, following the wondrous discoveries of its titular boy, an orphan living in a Paris train station in the early 1930's. His secret life within the walls of the station takes a turn when, with the help of eccentric characters, he explores the hidden world of mechanized inventions left by his father. Early cinema plays a big role in the plot of Hugo, as do the usual fantasy topics of toys and automatons, and character actors Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jude Law, and Christopher Lee well serve the $170 million production's appeal. While the second half of Scorsese's directorial career is perhaps best known musically for its partnership with Elmer Bernstein, veteran composer Howard Shore stepped in as the new collaborator of choice for the director in the 2000's. Shore's music in the fantasy realm after the early portion of that decade will inevitably be compared to his legendary scores for the franchise of The Lord of the Rings, though in the case of Hugo, the 2011 work resides squarely in the historical children's genre and espouses an entirely different demeanor than the composer's famed triumphs. Balancing the French and gypsy elements of Hugo with a standard orchestral presence led Shore to incorporate the first group of specialty contributors into the latter as almost an additional section of players. By supplementing his standard symphonic tones with accordion, ondes martenot, cimbalom, tack piano, acoustic guitar, upright bass, and alto saxophone (among others), Shore meant to address the depth of mysteries and inventions in the story with several layers of musical wonder. Along the way, these contributors also lend the required Parisian spirit to the work, though the accordion seems to heft the majority of that load. The general personality of Hugo straddles the worlds of children's fantasy and historical drama by alternating between pensive whimsy and comical bursts of action. Shore has tackled this general kind of blend before, and in this circumstance, the distinctly French angle to that technique will give the score a unique allure for those who aren't immediately repulsed anytime they hear an accordion in a waltz rhythm no matter the context. While the movie's plot allows for necessary musical deviations into the realm of the silly, Shore keeps the tone accessible for the most part, the wealth of fantasy material mostly likely to solicit repeat appreciation out of context.

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Despite the French spirit that affectionately saturates Hugo and does approach obnoxious levels at times, the score is floated in all its parts by Shore's strong set of very consistent themes. The main identity is a sensitive and almost carefree waltz for accordion referenced in the middle of "The Thief" and frequently thereafter. Its pretty melody solidifies with its song adaptation, "Coeur Volant," and conclusion, "Winding It Up," to finish the score's album presentation. It's not unusual for a piano or solo woodwind to take up this melody, making it occasionally reminiscent of vintage Rachel Portman innocence of tone. Far more interesting in Hugo, however, are two darker themes of mystery and intrigue in the minor key, beginning with a series of descending octaves on piano and celesta to represent the (literal) clockwork of the automation in the story. This idea is the first heard in "The Thief" and is reprised as quick, fragmentary reminders throughout the rest of the work, often extending into a fluid relative of flowing, descending rambling on ondes martenot and strings that serves as the score's official, other-worldly representation of the boy's father's inventions and the magic associated with the story. This elusive idea first graces "The Clocks" before receiving extensive development in "Hugo's Father" and maturing into fuller ensemble variants on vibrant strings in "The Magician." Shore ensures these combined identities final expressions in "Winding It Up" as well. The score's comedy emanates from the theme for the story's station inspector, who receives a staggered march that adds deep woodwinds and snare drum to the French elements starting in "The Chase." As the score progresses, this theme seemingly mutates into a ascending series of pronounced chords that oddly resembles the "nature reclamation" theme from The Lord of the Rings. Other ideas waft through the score at will, some of them attentive to the early days of cinematic music while the pair of "A Ghost in the Station" and "A Train Arrives in the Station" takes the inspector's music into straight action mode. Ultimately, "The Thief" and "Winding It Up" are good summaries of the score's better thematic constructs, both cues lengthy and effortless in their pleasantly tonal surveys and narrative flow. The aforementioned song, "Coeur Volant," sung in French by Zaz, is lovely in its gypsy performance emphasis and employment of the orchestral ensemble in the background. While the French elements in the score as a whole, especially in the marching comedy portions, will test your patience, the remainder is well enough integrated to appeal to purely fantasy interests. With practically no challenging or disturbing passages, Hugo is a consistently affable listening experience on its lengthy album, and the beauty of the song adaptation completes an easily recommendable package. ****   Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For Howard Shore reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.43 (in 23 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.25 (in 93,154 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.