The Fabelmans (2022) Movie Review
The Fabelmans is a love letter from Steven Spielberg to film, directing, his parents, his childhood, and pieces of his life that have shaped him. He has taken the hint from other directors who have made semi-autobiographical movies, like Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma (2018) and decided to make one of his own. The Fabelman family unit is led by mother Mitzi (Michelle Williams) and father Burt (Paul Dano) who could not be more opposite. Mitzi is a classically trained pianist but as with most women in the 1950’s she didn’t pursue her passion and instead married Burt and had four kids. Burt is a certifiable genius, an electric engineer working with computers and seeing the potential of them far before anyone else. While Mitzi is artistic and prone to odd whims like dancing in the woods on a camping trip and buying a monkey (yes a real monkey), Burt is forever stuck in his logic and rationale. Sammy (Gabriel LaBelle) and his sisters are often caught in the middle of their loving parents.
The movie begins with a younger Sammy (Mateo Zoryon Francis-DeFord) seeing a movie, The Greatest Show on Earth, in 1952 in a theater for the first time. A massive train collision in the movie scares him and he sets his sights on creating his own crash with a toy train, and recording it to conquer his fear. This sparks the beginning of his love for cinema. Fast forward a few years and the family uproots to Phoenix with a certain Uncle Bennie (Seth Rogen) in tow who is always hanging around. As Mitzi struggles in the new environment, Sammy excels and begins filming short movies to earn a merit badge for the Eagle Scouts but winds up continuing to shoot long after earning the badge because he loves it.
The short movies Sammy films are a joy to watch. He’s incredibly inventive, creating special effect gun shots by poking holes in the film and using ketchup for blood. For true film buffs, it will be particularly fun to watch him shoot on 8mm and edit the film by splicing. Things deteriorate for the Fabelman’s with another move, this time to California so Burt can work at IBM. Sammy, who stops filming due to a shocking familial revelation, struggles to adjust. He is picked on at school for being Jewish and he watches his parents’ relationship disintegrate even further.
Spielberg is sentimental about this story (how could he not be?) and he treats each character with careful consideration. Being an artist, and in particular a filmmaker, means you observe others. Spielberg shows how Sammy is able to detach from what’s going on around him by filming. He also perfectly captures how filmmakers can manipulate people and their surroundings to tell a certain story. Was this exactly how things happened in Spieberg’s childhood? No, but he knows that and tells us as much as we watch the events unfold.
The acting performances elevate the movie to award-worthy status. Michelle Williams proves yet again that she can tackle any role. She is a revelation as Mitzi, displaying the difficult tightrope mothers (especially mothers in the 50’s and 60’s) have to walk in order to keep some sense of self. Her offbeat demeanor and facial expressions help Williams to disappear into the role. Relative newcomer Gabriel LaBelle is the anchor of the story and takes on the gigantic task of inhabiting a young Spielberg. LaBelle pulls it off and then some, combining Sammy’s feverish love of filmmaking with an earnestness that is compelling to watch. His complex relationship with his parents and this feeling of being an outsider are delivered in excellent fashion by LaBelle. Not to be forgotten, Paul Dano puts in a quieter and more subtle performance as Burt. Dano works wonders with gentle compassion and a slowly building frustration that only bubbles to the surface on a few occasions. Also, keep your eyes peeled for an appearance by David Lynch who plays a certain film legend to perfection.
The Fabelmans is not without its flaws. It’s a little too long–if 20 minutes had been cut out that would have helped the plot zip along a little better. And Spielberg does get overly sentimental and nostalgic with the story at times. But those faults are easy to forgive because the movie is entertaining and fun, especially for fans of film and of Spielberg in particular. He might not be your favorite director, but it’s hard to deny the impact Spielberg has had on films and filmmaking. The Fabelmans is another solid entry in his long and storied career.
You’ll like this film if:
1. You love movies and filmmaking
2. You love Spielberg
3. You like stories about pursuing artistic passions
