The Fabelmans

Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Gabriel LaBelle, Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Julia Butters, Judd Hirsch, Jeannie Berlin, Robin Bartlett, Keeley Karsten, Sophia Kopera, Sam Rechner, Oakes Fegley, Chloe East, Jame Urbaniak, David Lynch, Greg Grunberg
Running Time:151 min.
Rating: PG-13

**The Following Review Contains Plot Spoilers For 'The Fabelmans'**

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)

Considering how everyone's story often looms larger than life in their own minds, that impact must feel heightened for Steven Spielberg, whose childhood has so informed his work as a filmmaker that the idea of a movie inspired by those memories may seem like a self-indulgent formality. But because it's been frequently alluded to through the years, there's a curiosity factor in seeing how his parents' divorce influenced the director who'd go on to make future classics like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark and E.T. 

It's not a coincidence those three aforementioned titles spring to mind while watching The Fabelmans,  as each combine that childlike sense of wonder prevalent in Spielberg's filmography with his recurring theme of broken families. While the latter motif has either consciously or unconsciously permeated his films, this marks the first time as an audience we get front row seats to watch him sit on the psychologist's couch as he processes it. You can almost feel through the screen how personal and raw it still is, as if we've been given unrestricted access to details only those closest to him should know. And yet, there's still that universal appeal present that's categorized so much of what he's previously done. 

To Spielberg's credit, he goes all in and rarely pulls punches, further solidifying our belief it's more than "loosely inspired" by real events.  Jumping off the little we already knew, these feel like things that would have happened, but also how you imagine he'd present it. The family dynamic is universally messy enough to feel relatable, before the story to some fascinating places in the second half, retaining the idea that a series of events at a key point can set someone on a trajectory, regardless of whether they're ready. Clearly, the divorce carried life-altering consequences, but what's most interesting is how the implosion of a traditional marriage meant something far different in the 50's and 60's than it does now, making it that much easier to see how this event would so dramatically affect him.

It's 1952 in Haddon Township, New Jersey when pianist Mitzi Fabelman (Michelle Williams) and her computer engineer husband Burt (Paul Dano) take their eight-year-old son Sammy (Mateo Zoryan Francis-DeFord) to see his first film, Cecil B. DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth. Traumatized by the train crash scene, Sammy can't sleep or get it out of his head, determined to restage it with the toy train set he got for Hanukkah. With his mother's permission, he shoots this crash with an 8mm camera, which leads to him make movies starring younger sisters Reggie, Natalie and Lisa. But when Burt gets offered a new job at GE in Phoenix, the family relocates, with Burt's best friend and co-worker Bennie (Seth Rogen) also coming along. 

As a teen, Sammy (Gabriel LaBelle) continues making films with his Boy Scout troop, before shooting a family camping trip, the footage of which leads to a heartbreaking reveal about mom Mitzy. While an angered and distraught Sammy stews over this shocking discovery, Burt gets promoted, causing another move to California, this time with Bennie being left behind. Facing bullying and anti-semitism at a new school, Sammy temporarily abandons filmmaking and begins dating classmate Monica (Chloe East), a devout Christian who quickly falls for him. But with his family crumbling, the urge to pick up a camera remains, as does his dream of making movies in Hollywood.

This contains so much family shenanigans early on that you have to assume it was directly drawn from the Spielberg's memories since it's simply too crazy to believe otherwise. Running a robust two and a half hours, the film leads with lighter, comedic material (one including a pet monkey), that frame the picture of a family whose happiness is on borrowed time. It also marks a rare instance of the director going way over the top to make a point we're not sure he'll get around to. For a little while we wonder if he has one, until the surprise arrival of former film industry vet uncle Boris (Judd Hirsch) to berate and inspire Sammy, prophetically laying out the sacrifices ahead of him in having to choose between family and art. Hirsch's brief, electric performance has been rightfully praised, but works best when viewed as setting the groundwork for a more memorable encounter Sammy experiences later.

Sandwiched between a practical, scientific father dismissive of his filmmaking "hobby" and an artsy, free spirited mother encouraging him to reach for the stars, Sammy's soon hit with the realization all isn't what it seems with his parents' marriage. Spielberg and Tony Kushner's script isn't subtle about Mitzi and Burt orbiting different planets as spouses, and while some criticism has been leveled against Michelle Williams' flighty, occasionally downright bonkers portrayal of Mitzy, that was likely the intention. And if it's supposed to be an exact facsimile of Spielberg's actual mother, all you can really do is commend him for actually going there since Mitzy is...a lot. And it's safe bet that parts of this character will be recognizable to many, emotions flailing as the rest of the family anxiously await her next cringeworthy public display.

Spielberg probably felt he had to cast Williams' since it's unlikely anyone else could navigate a part this tricky and unflattering, filled with highs and lows. It's a better performance than most think, and given how it supposedly skirts the line between lead and supporting, eats up enough time to claim the movie mostly belongs to her. Dano disappears into the brilliant, but straight-laced Burt, whose disinterested demeanor and milquetoast personality subtly feeds Mitzy's inferiority complex. And yet you feel for him, realizing he's doing his best with all that's on his plate. Ironically, Seth Rogen's one of the film's more subdued aspects, bringing a goofy charm to Bernie, who we recognize as possibly providing Mitzy more of what she needs than her own husband.

There are some really powerful scenes, such as a family member's death, another involving daughter Reggie's (Julia Butters) embarrassment at her mom's exhibitionism and a handful charting Sammy's reaction to Mitzi's seemingly unforgivable transgression. The idea that Sammy filters everything that happens through movies begins with his restaging of the train crash but becomes even more pronounced when he splices together the single worst moment of his young life. If it seems as if the  anti-semitic bullying comes out of nowhere, that's because these things often do. And not only is it the strongest section of the film, but arguably the best narrative stretch Spielberg's had in years, in no small part due to newcomer Gabriel LaBelle's performance. 

We've seen many failed attempts from directors at casting their onscreen surrogate, but LaBelle's the real deal, undeniably great at conveying just the right amount of awkwardness, humor and angst as he single-handedly carries the remainder of the picture. And toward the end, the actor even begins to physically resemble the shaggy haired Spielberg we've seen in photos and footage from that period. Sammy's whirlwind relationship with the very religious Monica supplies the film with some of its biggest laughs, but what hits hardest is this unexpected arc with school bullies Logan (Sam Rechner) and Chad (Oakes Fegley). His filming of senior Ditch Day leads to the understanding of just how much power he wields behind the camera to tell the story he wants, while maybe even also earning a certain degree of begrudging acceptance. Watching, you wonder if Spielberg intended this as a dig at critics who have long cited the director's populist sensibilities as blunting the full creative potential of his output.  

Whether Sammy makes the choice he does to be liked or simply because it was right for the project is a question even he can't completely answer. But it leads to the film's best scene, a school hallway confrontation that crackles with a verbal and physical intensity we haven't seen from the director in years. The sequence frames everything preceding it to mean more in totality, as does an ending that sees Sammy meeting his hero, legendary director John Ford, played with cantankerous bluster by an ingeniously cast David Lynch. It's a cameo that needs to been to be believed, and even then, you still may not believe it. And it's all capped off with a clever visual gag that deserves mention as the one of the more indelible final shots of Spielberg's career.

Subverting expectations and playing better the longer it sits, the film avoids sappiness and is even a little messy, which comes as a relief considering the director's reputation for playing it safe. After Schindler's List there was no going back, almost as if Spielberg realized that delivering crowd pleasing blockbusters to the masses no longer held the interest for him it once did, as he moved toward historically based, character driven dramas. But whether it's the nostalgia of digging into his own past or again working with kids, you kind of feel that spark return here, combining the best of both Spielbergs. And by now tackling the one issue that's colored his entire journey, we're left wondering whether The Fabelmans can even be judged on its own terms, or is best evaluated as a reflection of the man who made it.