If a movie is a dream, when do we wake up? At what point does love for creating movies begin revealing unwanted truths? Commitment to an artform takes you places that will leave you lonely, torn asunder from family and shelter. This artform is a vehicle you drive into the future and it’s a wild ride that, at any moment, could crash. These are aspects of film which Steven Spielberg ties to his childhood in the melancholy coming-of-age tale The Fabelmans. Sammy Fabelman, Spielberg’s stand-in for his younger self, is a true film obsessive from a very early age. His love for film is more than a hobby, it’s a passion he wears on his sleeve. His father is a tech wizard who doesn’t fully understand his son’s obsession yet still supports Sammy despite some apprehensions of his son’s chosen profession. On the other hand, Sammy’s mother is eccentric and creative, fully supportive of Sammy’s obsession to the point where it would devastate her if he stopped. Paul Dano and Michelle Williams are great in these roles as is Gabriel LaBelle in the role of Sammy Fabelman. Sammy’s parents mirror Steven Spielberg’s real life parents and their relationship.
The Fabelmans is a series of vignettes from Spielberg’s childhood. Think Licorice Pizza or Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (a film which takes place during Tarantino’s childhood minus a small guy as Tarantino stand-in). The film consists of acts which transition with each move of The Fabelman family. It’s a thrill to see Spielberg recreate his own life and the moments that molded his ideas. This might be the most inspiring movie to release this year: The moments which form Sammy’s young life go on to play out as themes in one of the most celebrated filmography in film history. Sammy is a savant and knows exactly where to place the camera from a very young age. You could see this as self-indulgence on Spielberg’s part but… He’s Steven Spielberg. You should know exactly what he means! There’s so much nuance in each scene and nothing ever plays as pure sentimentality. Spielberg explores his childhood almost like he’s exorcizing secrets from his head that he’s kept to himself for sixty years.
The Fabelmans may have an ounce of nostalgia but what makes up the image is a fuller, richer supply of thorns and bittersweet ingenuity. The further Sammy goes into his obsession, the more his family breaks apart. If this were Spielberg’s final film, it would be very fitting. This and the recent film Armageddon Time tie together well as explorations of anti-semitism in America. Both films are relevant to the awful times we live in. The Fabelmans is the beginning of a defining career in, not only the world of film, but also American culture. This film captures the terror and wonder of film and life. The trailer makes this seem like a nostalgic, love letter to the movies. It’s a lot more than that and left me walking on a cloud. A great director explores his younger life and it’s very compelling.
RATING: 9 out of 10