I very much enjoy the work of both Spielberg and Kushner, yet somehow The Fabelmans never quite gelled for me. Its rose coloured look at the youth of one of the most famous film makers of all time is engaging and charming, but often rather vanilla, feeling less cinematic than one would expect. The Fabelmans for all its monkeys and dances in the headlights, remains a standard telling of coming of age. But does it matter? This is the story Spielberg wanted to tell and he gets to tell it the way that he wants.
And there are magical moments herein. I referenced Michelle Williams dancing in headlights. There is a clever cameo at the end that is enjoyable if somewhat out of left field. Judd Hirsch storms into the movie and chews it up before bowing out never to be seen again.
But so much of the film feels overly dramatized and unreal. Is that a technique? Is Spielberg making his biofilm feel more like a film and less like life?
Michelle Williams has an acting style that never quite clicks for me. She is broad in her performances, like a Joan Crawford and here it feels very much in that vein making it hard for me to get the relationship between Sammy and his mother. Dano's subtler strength worked better for me, but these performances were all over the map. I did find LaBelle a strong centre for the story and the film, and by the end he was the spitting image of a young Spielberg, all nerdy handsome and full of promise.
I will say I enjoyed The Fabelmans, but I was in and out of it throughout, and I'm not sure it is the sort of film I'd rewatch time and again. For a film about loving movies, I found it hard to connect to as a film lover.
The Fabelmans
Starring: Gabriel LaBelle, Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogan, Judd Hirsh, Julia Butters, Greg Grunberg, David Lynch
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Tony Kushner, Steven Spielberg
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