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Plot Summary: Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.

Director: Steven Spielberg

Writers: Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner

Runtime: 2 hours 31 mins

• Michelle Williams as Mitzi Fabelman
• Paul Dano as Burt Fabelman
• Seth Rogen as Bennie Loewy
• Gabriel LaBelle as Sammy Fabelman

Review by: Samuel

This might be one of my quickest reviews because a film like The Fabelmans doesn’t have a lot for me to dislike nor does it have many story elements for me to examine and potentially pick at.

This film, a semi-autobiographical film by director Steven Spielberg, is a very straightforward story. That is, a young boy is inspired at a young age to make his own movies after seeing The Great Escape for the first time. From that point on, his supportive parents get him a film camera and he never puts it down and we see this journey of passion throughout his adolescence with some family drama mixed in. That’s really all there is to it- this is a slice of life film. There is no competition to win, no money that must be made, no enemy trying to hinder progress, no deadline to meet; this is a film with very low stakes which I must say is refreshing.

Now the one fault that may come with this is people thinking this film is boring, and I’d understand that. While I enjoyed every minute of the 2+ hour runtime, I can understand people who would actually want some external threat to present itself to give the film and its characters a feeling of thrill and excitement. I however, just enjoyed watching this family live their life and go through their (relatively few) troubles along the way. This means the movie is carried by its actors. For almost the entire runtime I forgot I was watching actors on a screen and was drawn into the world of the Fabelman family. That is a testament to the main characters first of which is Sam, the young filmmaker, who is portrayed by Gabrielle LaBelle. Sam’s passion for film is palpable. His delivery when speaking about the equipment, his face when he’s disappointed in a shot, and his body movements during a shoot all go to show a boy who’s all in. Some of my favorite moments came just watching Sam direct his actors in his backyard films and find creative ways to make his effects come to life. For example, since he’s a kid and doesn’t have money, to simulate a bomb exploding he has one of his friends jump onto a pile of dirt and records the resulting mess. If you and your friends ever made home movies when you were a child, you can’t help but feel nostalgia and joy watching this.

Outside of Sam, his parents played by Paul Dano and Michelle Williams, also give praiseworthy performances. Dano plays a brilliant engineer named Burt and he’s the one who actually first explains what a motion picture is to Sam. His description, like most of his dialogue, is very technical; but you can sense a man who’s excited about the new age of technology just on the horizon. Throughout the film Burt is shown as his family’s biggest cheerleader always encouraging each member of the household and trying his best (sometimes to a fault) to make sure they are all happy. There is a moment when conflict seems to appear at a point when he refers to his son’s filmmaking as a “hobby,” which Sam doesn’t appreciate; but, that moment passes and Burt respects his son’s wishes remaining encouraging in his own way.

Even more encouraging though is Michelle Williams who plays the matriarch of the family, Mitzy. After Sam, Mitzy probably has the most screen time and it s not wasted. She is phenomenal here. She plays a mother of four, who is also a free spirited artist, who is also battling feelings of depression, who is also devoted to make sure Sam feels like his dream is a possibility. I think the best way to describe it is Burt’s support comes off as more technical where e he wants Sam to learn the most efficient way to film and find a career path. Whereas Mitzy leaves the technical behind and just say “go for it in any way you can.” I mentioned she wears many hats in the film and she wears each one with exacting precision. It’s honestly incredible to see her bounce from mom, to artist, to recluse, back to mom almost effortlessly. Without getting into spoilers there’s a scene where she is doing something she shouldn’t really be doing and we see her face change from excited, to horrified to sad in mere moments. It’s that kind of detail that makes these people and this film feel real, and that leads me to Mr. Spielberg.

He hasn’t made a movie I dislike and it continues here. Technically, the color grading, camera focus points, scenery, and shot angles are top notch. But, where he really shines is directing these actors. I often find that when I think an actor has done badly it’s really on the director for not directing him/her better. Spielberg proves it. Everyone who had a line in this movie from children as young as 5 to adults in their 70s were astonishingly good. A film like this can’t work if you’re not drawn in, and you can’t be drawn in with bad acting. His cast certainly offered a big help, but the direction deserves its roses.