“Family, art. It will tear you in two.“

I’ve been seeing the trailer for The Fabelmans for months now, and I couldn’t stand it. The way the trailer was put together was so melodramatic and felt so forced and pretentious, and I still stand by that after watching the film. But although my initial thoughts weren’t so positive, I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed this.

The story is essentially a fictional Steven Spielberg biopic following his childhood and teenage years, documenting his parent’s marriage, his connection to his Jewish heritage, his first experiences of bullying and love, and the discovery of his love for film. 

I’ve never been a HUGE Spielberg fan. I love Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List and the Indiana Jones trilogy, but apart from that I’ve never really walked away from one of his films feeling that I really enjoyed it. But I had a great time with this. Maybe it’s because it’s centred around a person’s love for the art of cinema and I relate heavily to that so I might be biased. But nonetheless I enjoyed this a great deal.

The film is cheesy as hell, which I usually detest, but I got so caught up in it all and didn’t mind it one bit. That one line where Michelle Williams says:

“Movies are dreams that you never forget.”

is pretty much the only part where I thought the film was being pretentious by any means. Other than that, it was a tight family drama story that I found myself gripped by.

The acting is great from pretty much every cast member. It can border on cheesy American cliché characters like high-school bullies, but pretty much every character feels natural.

Gabriel LaBelle leads the film nicely and creates a performance that the viewer can get attached to. I look forward to seeing him in other projects.

Paul Dano is the strongest actor by far in the whole film, playing the part of the main character’s father. It’s a more wholesome role him, not the intense ones he usually goes for, but he does it excellently. He plays the suburban dad well but adds genuine moments where the viewer can see through his parenting persona. He’s paired excellently with Michelle Williams, who delivers a forceful performance as the mother of the family. 

Seth Rogen is surprisingly good in what is a much more serious role, though he gets his fair share of comedic lines as his character is suitably jokey. The David Lynch cameo was also a surprise. It was fantastic and is definitely one of my favourite scenes in the film. 

As far as Spielberg films go for me, this was a pleasant surprise. It has a certain magical tone that’s very charming to watch.

2022 RANKED
Spielberg RANKED