The Fabelmans — a Review
While maybe better known for his blockbusters, Spielberg shows his vulnerable side in a beautiful story of growth and change
The Fabelmans excels at making every moment count. I’m not always the biggest fan of Spielberg’s style of film, but he managed to capture a coming of age drama in the most Spielberg way I could imagine.
This movie feels like an epic, going through event after event of trauma, discovery, confusion, and love. It’s all captured in the character of Sammy Fabelman, with his obstacle-filled path to creativity set out in front of him.
While it’s family-friendly, and still giving off the adventurous, caution to the wind vibe of Spielberg, The Fabelmans is grounded in family dissonance and a boy trying to figure out who he is, and who he wants to be. He finds that treading the path of a filmmaker will affect his faltering family ties, but he can’t let that hold the sail down and keep him in port.
If there’s a quote to define much of this movie, it has to be:
“You can’t just love something, you have to take care of it.”
The Fabelmans is filled with the trials and tribulations of love with a lack of care. This point of contention fuels the conflict in every character, and their interconnected struggles. Mrs. Fabelman is careless with holding her family together. Mr. Fabelman is careless for Mrs. Fabelman’s ambitions and feelings. And Sammy often finds himself trapped between respect for his mother, his father, and his craft. The performances by LaBelle and Williams struck a particularly deep note, playing off of their character dynamics.
Spielberg asks many important questions that seem like far too much for a kid to answer. What does it mean to be an artist in a practical sense? Should you create art for yourself or your audience? How will your craft affect the ones you love? How will that affect your love for them?
There’s a sense that Sammy feels the need to make films for those around him, but by the end of the movie, he knew he owed it to himself. The Fabelmans, given its autobiographical nature, feels the same way. Spielberg came at this project with an angle of vulnerability and it paid dividends in quality and emotional investment.
The Fabelmans sends you through dark places, quirky moments, and a feelings of genuine joy, but it excels at creating a sense of wonder that will leave you wanting more. I highly recommend checking it out.
