“The Fabelmans” keeps up the quality
The man, myth and legend Steven Spielberg has made quite possibly his most personal film to date. As a follow up in his filmography to “West Side Story,” I’d say he’s on an aesthetic and emotional roll that I would love to see more of.
This film, released on Nov. 11, takes place from the late 1950s to the mid 60s. It’s a semi-autobiographical drama of Spielberg’s childhood of him making movies and learning to love the art. It displays his intuitiveness and well-spent ambition for the art form.
The first thing I noticed about this film is that the cast doesn’t have a ton of big names, but the actors that are in the cast are exceptional. Paul Dano gives the best performance as the father and is due for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for either this or “The Batman” where he played The Riddler. Michelle Williams is asked to do a lot and she goes above and beyond to sell her character as the mother and her struggles that are one of the focal points of the film. Although Seth Rogen is playing a comedic character, he is involved in multiple emotional scenes and he does an excellent job in all of them.
The person who brings it all together is Gabriel LaBelle as Sammy Fabelman, the Steven Spielberg surrogate of the story. After we see Mateo Zoryan as young Sammy, LaBelle plays the character for the bulk of the movie and from that point on there’s hardly a scene without him. For my first experience with the actor, I’m excited with what he goes on to do after this as he takes lots of different emotions, attitudes and moral choices, and every last one of them is believable.
From the very first frame, I was in love with the style and look of this film. I love the fashion of the era it takes place in, so that was an immediate win for me. The film has a beautiful blue color palette that goes wonderfully with the different climates displayed throughout the runtime. This film succeeds in making every location feel lived in and familiar in a way so the viewer can put themselves in the family’s shoes. In the third act, a hefty amount of time is spent at a high school and I think it matches the look, feel and energy of an actual California high school.
Even though the intention of the pacing is to show snapshots of someone’s life, I wish it could’ve spent more time fleshing out the people and situations the family gets involved in. To me, it felt like it would move on before I could get invested in those people and situations. This could be fixed with a rewatch as I haven’t heard anyone else have this problem.
This is in my top ten movies of the year! Spielberg knocks it out of the park yet again in his legendary and expansive career. This is an excellent, wholesome entry in his filmography . If he were to call it the end and I would be satisfied. I can’t wait to revisit this 4.5 / 5.
