DVD Review: The Fabelmans

The Fabelmans

(DVD Fabelmans)

 

Quick disclaimer — I’ve been a fan of director Steven Spielberg’s films ever since his TV-movie Duel and summer blockbuster Jaws. I’ve enjoyed his mass appeal SF fare – Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., AI, etc., and have followed his career ever since the mid-1980s. This 2022 Oscar-nominated film, directed by Steven Spielberg himself, is the closest we’ll probably ever get to an autobiographical movie from that legendary director. Though fictionalized, most of the events that take place in The Fabelmans are based on actual events from Spielberg’s own life and early years before he broke into the film industry.

 

Young actor Gabriel LaBelle plays Sammy Fabelman, the analog for Spielberg, son of Burt and Mitzi Fabelman (Paul Dano and Michelle Williams), living in a small midwestern town. When a job opportunity uproots the family and drops them in Arizona, with almost no fellow Jewish families to associate with, Sammy’s obsession with making 8mm films intensifies. His father supports him but considers the films a mere hobby. His mother has more of a sense of how important filmmaking is to her son, but has relationship issues that get in the way of her being a strong source of support. And Sammy’s relationships at his new school are fraught with peril — he’s either bullied by anti-semitic sports stars or obsessed over by a girl who wants to convert him to Christianity.

 

But behind all of that is his love for film, and his increasing skill level at making a compulsively-viewable art form. When it is through his camera lens that Sammy uncovers a family secret, his need for the world of filmmaking to make sense of his own life and provide a medium for healing becomes even greater.

 

The performances in this little gem of a film are stellar. LaBelle as Sammy, Dano as father Burt, and Williams as mother Mitzi are all incredible. Excellent supporting work is turned in by Judd Hirsch as Uncle Boris, Keeley Karsten and Julia Butters as Sammy’s sisters Natalie and Reggie, Sam Reckner as jock Logan Hall, and David Lynch as legendary film director John Ford. The production design was terrific, recreating the feel of the 1950s and 1960s. John Williams created another winning film score. And as director, with The Fabelmans, Spielberg has brought forth another visually compelling story…all the more powerful for knowing that it was mostly true.

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try 5-25-77 for another semi-autobiographical film about growing up with an obsession about making movies; or any of the more instrospective and thought-provoking films directed by Steven Spielberg, including Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Amistad, Lincoln, or more…)

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this film )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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