The Fabelmans is the new film from Steven Spielberg based on his own experiences it follows Sammy Fabelman, a young boy who dreams of becoming a filmmaker and his family story as they move from New Jersey to Arizona. It stars Gabriel LaBelle as Sammy and Paul Dano and Michelle Williams as his parents.
I really enjoyed this one. I was curious as to how interesting this story might be, but I should have know Spielberg is a master of his craft and he manages to take what could be a reasonably by the numbers story about a boy who wants to make movies and makes it really special. There are sweet moments, genuine drama and really nice character moments too. I think part of that comes from the performances, which are all great and part of it comes from the screenplay and direction which give each character time to shine, whilst keeping the focus on Sammy.
This film is obviously deeply personal to Spielberg it’s effectively his life story and sometimes that means filmmakers play it safe or don’t create their best work. But not here, I think it’s really compelling and very watchable. Not my favourite Spielberg movie at all and sure it’s a bit sentimental and maybe a bit long, but I was never bored and I would definitely recommend this to anyone really.
I just want to mention the weird Oscar nominations this film has got. Spielberg for Director and Michelle Williams for actress I get totally well deserved, but Judd Hirsch for Best Supporting actor? Really? He’s in this for like 2 scenes and they’re good scenes, but geuninley David Lynch has as much of a claim for a nomination as Judd. It’s a real shame they overlooked Paul Dano, would have been a great Supporting Actor nominee. Just strange to me.
But yes would recommend The Fabelmans, very enjoyable. 3.5 Stars.
Movie Night 