Caleb’s review published on Letterboxd:
100
"Movies are dreams you never forget."
The carpet had a snazzy, colorful pattern to it for a kid could get lost in following these wild patterns. If you looked up, you saw that there were arcade area teeming with bright lights, these big machines that only took a quarter or two to play them for a couple of minutes of your time. Just look around again, and you'd see the concessions. The smell of popcorn and butter filled the air, and if you looked around again, you'd know you were in a movie theater. It was 2002, and Spider-Man was playing. Amazing, they brought my favorite superhero to life! We came into the theater, and realized that we were going to watch this superhero in action on a gigantic screen. The seats were pretty full, but my dad and I managed to find a couple of seats. The lights came down, but I won't pretend to remember the previews that came with it, for the most memorable moment occurred as the bright light overtook the theater only for it to zoom out, and there revealed a draped woman holding a torch with Danny Elfman's score kicking in. Comic book pages leaped out of the screen, rapidly flipping in succession as the score blasted in full volume. It faded to a shadow, and there the magnificent score played out in full with hints of what was to come in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man. Few, if any, words actually do justice to what I felt during the movie. It was futile to understand the power of films, even me at 7 years old. But I knew it completely captivated me, and some part of me knew my calling. My parents would divorce about four years after Spider-Man so I identified with The Fabelmans in a lot of ways.
Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans has been a lifelong endeavor for him, going as far back to 1999 as he originally titled it I'll be Home at the time. But due to the film's autobiographical nature, and having seen about twenty-five films from him, I argue that the film, in bits and pieces, has been in his filmography all along. The Fabelmans is a culmination of everything Spielberg's explored throughout his filmography, yet it was sort of unexpected, but that only underscores Spielberg's craftsmanship. At 75 years old, he's recognized that art only brings pain, and he's got a hell of a way to show that in the film. He takes his well-known running theme of familial disintegration, applies it in his partly autobiographical take, and twists it into something all the more empowering, however bitter it got, for Steven. Make no mistake, this is Steven's movie, but he has such a great eye and even better writing, there's no slowing down the 75 year old Steven Spielberg as he crafts a tale of genuine vulnerability as Sam Fabelman (a great Gabirel LaBelle) is torn between his passion for films and his rapidly disintegrating family as he goes through high school. With such an intensely personal endeavor at hand, Spielberg manages to turn in one of the best films this year, and also one of his best overall too.
The cast are uniformly fantastic, no matter the screen time. Especially Paul Dano and Michelle Williams, as they each demand your attention in very distinct ways. Even Judd Hirsch and David Lynch show up to almost steal the whole movie. After showing his musical chops last year in West Side Story, Spielberg continues to stun at what he's still able to come up with, especially the fact this is his only fifth penned film, partnering with his longtime collaborator Tony Kushner. I can't wait to see what he has up next, but this film must've felt like exorcising your demons. I can't even imagine. May we chase your dreams, however painful it gets. After all, what's the point? We must suffer but we always have a choice, especially when you're told off by a old man in an eyepatch to get the fuck out of his office after you're taught a thing or two about cinema. We know what choice Steven Spielberg made, and I'm guessing it was worth it for him. I know it will be for me, too.
Thanks, Steven, for all you do.
