THE FABELMANS

The Fabelmans has been described as Steven Spielbergs most personal film yet. A semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama, it tells the story of Sammy Fabelman who, after being taken to the cinema by his parents at a young age, develops a fascination with the medium.

While the film may centre itself around Sam it is, however, bigger than that, focussing not only on Sam but on the family as a whole. The title of The Fabelmans is no accident and while this film may be, as other have pointed out, a love letter to cinema, it is far more a love letter to family.

The heart of the film is the relationship between his parents. His arty, free spirited mother Mitzi (Michelle Williams) struggling with undiagnosed mental illnesses, and straight laced father Burt (Paul Dano) who struggles to understand his wife’s needs, so wrapped up is he in his work. The intricacies of their life are presented without judgement, and while different audiences will find blame in different sides, it is essentially a loving marriage between two, ultimately, ill suited people.

Both Williams and Dano are brilliant in their roles, both delivering tender, but heartbreaking performances. They are the performances of two great actors, who fully understand the characters that they are playing. The fact that the characters themselves are based on the lives of real people, is testament to Spielbergs direction.

Their relationship is also important in how it impacts the lives of their children and, in particular, their elder son Sammy. How they encourage and discourage his passion for filmmaking, how it impacts how he forms platonic and romantic relations, and the simultaneous love and resentment he feels towards them.

You can see both the best and the worst of both of them in Sammy. His mothers creativity and his fathers obsessiveness, both aid and abet him as he attempts to gain some control over his family life, and the chaos inside his own head.

Sammy is played superbly by Gabriel LaBelle, in what will become a true breakout role for him. LaBelle has had a few film roles, but this is a huge step up for him in his career. He manages, though, to take everything in his stride and give a performance so assured, you would think he had been working under the greats for years. Every word he speaks is believable and, in some of the films slower moments, his performance means that the film never threatens to sag.

The most surprising performance for me, though, was Seth Rogen as “Uncle” Bennie, a friend of the Fabelmans and Burts colleague. It is a more mature and nuanced performance than we are used to seeing from Rogen, and a far cry from the slightly annoying stoner he has played so regularly over the last couple of decades.

He plays the part close to his chest, never allowing the characters emotions to seep out. It is a subtle performance, but which still never leaves the audience in any doubt as to what he’s feeling.

I would really like to see Seth Rogen take more roles like this. He is a very strong actor, but his schtick has started to become old. The Fabelmans may, hopefully, be a sign that he is ready to move on to the next stage of his career.

Outside of the outstanding performances, the ode to Spielbergs family, and the love to the medium of cinema from one of it’s all time great filmmakers, however, The Fabelmans is an intensely sad experience. Even during the happier moments of the film there is always a sense that someone, or something, does not belong. Whether this is in a familial sense, an artistic sense, or a cultural sense.

And in the odd moments where it does begin to feel like everything is falling into place the ground gives way, and life wrenches them away to some place new.

While the film itself is steeped in nostalgia for the 1960’s it also does not hide from the traumas a Jewish family would go through at this time. The Fabelman family suffers, at times quite visceral, anti-semitism. The ease at which this behaviour is accepted throughout the film, adding to the chaos that Sammy especially must navigate. These scenes are hard to watch, but also important in understanding the motivations of Sammy and his parents.

The Fabelmans will not be for everyone. It is introspective, sentimental and, at times, upsetting, and while I did not have a problem with its length, the 150 minutes runtime may be enough to put people off.

If you are looking for the Spielberg-ien thrills of Jurassic Park or Indiana Jones you will likely leave disappointed.

What you will get from it though, is a deeply personal tale, which recognises the earlier years of one of the worlds most celebrated directors. To borrow a phrase from the superhero genre, The Fabelmans acts as Steven Spielbergs origin story. And if any film maker deserved one of those, it’s him.