Review: The Fabelmans

The Fabelmans is undoubtedly Steven Spielberg’s most personal film. The director in fact took the time to tell the audience directly, as the screening I attended began with a clip where Spielberg thanked us for keeping the communal aspects of cinema alive in a post-pandemic age. Spielberg’s faith in art having the power to bring people together is a key point of the film, shown through the lens of Sammy (Gabriel LaBelle), an aspiring filmmaker. The Fabelmans is Spielberg’s self-professed love letter to his family, with the events of the film mirroring his own life experiences before breaking into the filmmaking scene. 

It’s easy to forget that LaBelle, now 20, was only a teenager when shooting the film, as we follow his character through high school and eventually university. The weakest section of the film becomes clear when Spielberg attempts to cram a high school movie into the final act, with the most puzzling aspect being the bizarre friendship that instantly materialises between Sammy and the bully character of Logan (Sam Rechner) at the end of one particularly cringeworthy scene. Outside of this one scene LaBelle’s Sammy is charismatic in his shyness, with both the character and actor showing all the promise of future success. 

Paul Dano plays the perfect sympathetic father, struggling to understand Sammy’s artistic desires whilst remaining innocently lovable and inoffensive. By far the most captivating energy in the film comes from Mitzi (Michelle Williams), Sammy’s mother. The creative spark who inspires Sammy’s passion and (inadvertently) takes it away, Mitzi can light up a scene just as well as she can permeate one with the same yearning sadness as a bird without wings. Mitzi’s struggle between wanting to keep her family together and doing what she needs for her own happiness is the highlight of the film, as Sammy and seemingly Spielberg himself struggle with understanding and eventually justifying his mother’s actions. For the most part, The Fabelmans contains all of the Spielbergian charm of a family drama whilst managing to avoid the eye-rolling sentiment and forced morals that can be so tempting for the genre. David Lynch’s small role towards the end of the film is memorable, and would perhaps have been a more fun choice for Best Supporting Actor nominee at this years Oscars over Judd Hirsch as Sammy’s uncle. The final shot of the film is an undeniably endearing wink to the audience from Spielberg himself, as a hopeful Sammy walks off into the horizon. In a filmography with somewhat dwindling numbers of beloved films, The Fabelmans stands out as an earnest, heartfelt tribute from Spielberg to family and early cinema.

Featured image credit: IMDB