The Fabelmans - Movie Review

Critics Score - 7 of 10

General Audience Score - 7 of 10

Steven Spielberg is arguably the greatest director of our generation, and possibly all time. While his backstory is mostly available for any of his hardcore fans, most general audiences and even some cinephiles are unfamiliar with his childhood and how he got his start into movies. In steps The Fabelmans, the latest film from the acclaimed director, it takes us on a journey into his younger days, we meet his parents, see what his teenage years were like and find out how his flair for directing cinema got it’s start. While he is without a doubt, a fascinating figure, some of the aspects of the film are a bit droll, the casual interest the film is able to generate is sufficient to keep audiences awake, but not on the edge of our seats. But the third act really kicks the film into high gear as it takes on Steven’s high school days and plays out like one of the great 1980’s teenage screwball comedies, with zany shenanigans and humorous dating moments aplenty. All in all the movie is good, maybe very good, most audiences will find enjoyment in the watch, but I can’t get on board with those claiming this is a great movie or even one of his best achievements. For those in love with Spielberg, this watch will undoubtedly be one of the year’s best films, but for the rest of us, this journey with The Fabelmans might seem more like just a decent family road trip.

SYNOPSIS - Our show opens with text indicating this is Jan. 10th, 1952, and unsurprisingly, we’re coming along as a mother and father take their young son of seven to see a movie in the theatre, now showing The Greatest Show On Earth. As fascinating as it is to see one of the greatest directors, the mind that brought Jaws and Jurassic Park to the big screen, attend his first big screen movie, that whole “love of cinema” shtick is being rehashed in every other movie and is wearing out it’s welcome. The parents are Mitzi (Michelle Williams) and Burt Fabelman (Paul Dano), the stand in characters for little Steven Spielberg’s parents. “Mommy and daddy will be right next to you”, Burt reassures his son Sammy (the name Steven’s character is called in the film) before they enter the dark theatre. “Your first ever movie!” Burt exclaims, and the screenplay from Spielberg’s friend Tony Kushner rubs more lines of dialogue romancing cinema in our faces. As they watch the movie, Sammy sits wide eyed as the movie plays on, there’s a terrific old fashioned train wreck that etches itself on his impressionable young mind. Soon he’s celebrating Hanukkah, little Sammy gets a train set and he begins to try and recreate the train crashes in the movie with his own model train and camera.

We continue to follow the family as they move to Arizona with his father's work partner Bennie (Seth Rogen), soon Sammy (Gabriel LaBelle) is in his teenage years and we watch as the filmmaking ventures begin to become more and more elaborate. He records his family going on trips, he records his classmates and makes short movies which send his school classroom audiences into thunderous applause. On one of his family’s camping trips, one night he records his mother dancing in a somewhat sheer nightgown in the headlights of their station wagon. This is one of a few times in this film, Spielberg being an expert in his craft, is able to create moments of pure movie magic, but these mostly come towards the movie’s conclusion. He begs his father who finally buys him a film editing machine and his hobby is really able to improve. But the drama and struggles his mother, father and Bennie are working through in their relationships is only vaguely successful at creating tension or holding viewers interest for the first hour and a half. Insert a yawn or two. But once Sammy gets into high school and we get to inject how he deals with girlfriends, love, bullies, school parties and other high school drama into his filmmaking, this movie takes a sharp turn towards the incredible.

Let’s start our reflection of this film with the performances. For me, Gabriel LaBelle was the standout, as a youth actor, his delivery of a teenage Spielberg was a truly bright spot in the movie. It’s was also delightful to see Judd Hirsch as Sammy’s Uncle Boris bring some real power and charisma to his very limited screen time talking about his work in the film industry. Michelle Williams and Paul Dano were also both good, but despite the awards traction that both received, neither were in my favorite performances of the year or anything. The direction from Spielberg is clean and precise, he’s able to deliver some memorable scenes and you can tell from the outset you’re in the hands of one of the best, visually speaking. But the screenplay fails to deliver, Tony Kushner has his moments of brilliance to be sure, but this screenplay and the film by extension, feel overstuffed, there’s too much here and the pacing of the first two acts suffers exponentially for it. Thankfully Spielberg hits his stride by the third act and although I feel like the first two acts were strikes, the third pitch is low, straight and Steven knocks it out of the park. The original score from one of the all times greats, John Williams, is unfortunately unremarkable. The editing and pacing as I mentioned don’t do this film enough favors and along with many other films from the year, the two and a half hour runtime is soon felt. While the film revels in the joy of cinema, which is an all too common theme of late, it seems like every director and their brother is doing a movie about their childhood and or the power of cinema, The Fabelmans struggles to live up to the name behind some of the greatest works in the history of the art form. 

SUMMARY - While Spielberg’s ode to cinema, his parents and his youth is splendid at times and his direction can certainly be applauded, honestly there aren’t many times when his direction can’t. With portions of this film worth praising and it still being quite good overall, the mundane and subpar aspects of the story make The Fabelmans one fable that this man will be in no hurry to watch again for a while.