The Fabelmans Review

Supposed to be Steven Spielberg’s own story, The Fabelman explores Sam Fabelman’s journey towards direction but more importantly explores his family through a period of 10 years as they struggle with very personal decisions. Though set in the mid-60s-70s, the movie is relatable even now and offers a very ringside view of family problems. Yet it is dealt with a lot of maturity eventually. The genesis of his fascination with making movies is portrayed brilliantly through a train crash scene Sam watches in a theater for the first time. The camera is also what shatters his life and turns it upside down and yet it is a camera that eventually gets him joy and happiness as he finally gets to live his dream. The movie is very moving but misses the mark by a whisker in making it emotional for the audience too. We are invested in their story but as bystanders.

The scene with Logan in the locker room is top-class. Sam is either aware or discovers the power cinema can have over people and how anything can be portrayed the way he wants it. The power dynamic is also fascinating to watch as Logan ends up defending him against Chad(Logan and Chad are high school players and bullies). Sam’s love story with Chloe is cute and innocent and offers a few laughs in the prayer scene at her home.

But at the end of the day, the story belonged to the mother-son dynamic between Sam and Mitzi. His love for her with a brief burst of hatred that enters into an empathetic feeling as he understands her dilemma and probably realizes his love for the camera is similar to what she faces is quite interesting.

Cast — Michelle Williams as Mitzi is the star of the show but is ably supported by Gabriel Labelle as Sam fabelman. He marvels in the scene with Logan towards the end. All the rest of the cast do a fine job of making characters believable with a special mention of Julia Butters as Reggie.