/Filmcast E-Mails

I just finished listening to your review of Hugo and the analysis of the last shot of the movie.  Both Adam and Eric D. Snider felt like the final shot of the automaton is designed to play with the audience’s expectations, making the audience believe the automaton is going to come to life and when it doesn’t, it reinforces the reality of the story.  While I think that is part of it, I believe there is more happening here.

If you look at the two movies Scorsese has directed previously, Shutter Island and The Departed, he chose to end those films on one final shot of a symbol.  In The Departed is was a rat, and in Shutter Island it was the island lighthouse.  I believe the same thing is happening here with the final shot of the automaton.  As you discussed in your review, Hugo celebrates the past while looking to the future and I believe the automaton is the perfect symbol of this.  Robots are something that have always been thought of as futuristic.  The automaton is a robot, and it is an old one that uses old technologies to run.  Yet, those technologies are very intricate and advanced and able to accomplish tasks that would be impressive for the robots being constructed today.  It is in that way that if feels both old and futuristic at the same time, and for that reason it feels like a really pertinent symbol of the themes and ideas of the film as a whole.

Additionally, while coincidence is a major force in bringing everyone in the story together, that coincidence all centers around the automaton.  It is the joining point for all the characters so it feels appropriate to end on it.

As one final note, the automaton provides a sort of book end to the film which begins with a shot of gears moving that morphs into the Arc de Triomphe.

Just wanted to share my thoughts.  Keep up the amazing work you do.

Thanks for your time,