Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle), growing up in beautiful Arizona, wants to be a filmmaker–and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to make sure he achieves his goal. As he navigates the difficulties of childhood and the secrets of The Fabelmans, Sammy must use cinema to right the wrongs in his life. Sammy must now balance his dreams and his family–and that’s nearly impossible.
A film about filmmaking and all of its possibilities–The Fabelmans looks to make the filmmaking industry, for those of us that don’t have the means to just jump right into the business, as accessible as possible. This is the core of the film, but surrounding it are so many other things, so many moving parts that never relent, only become more harrowing and painful as the film moves forward. Family struggles, the reality that dreams may not come true, and more surround Sammy and the rest of the characters throughout the entirety of The Fabelmans–and each and every piece of the ever-changing puzzle entices viewers throughout.
The Fabelmans is heartbreaking, a challenging film to stomach. From the opening moments, as Sammy’s father, Burt (Paul Dano), and mother, Mitzi (Michelle Williams) explain the process of filmmaking to Sammy, there is clearly a level of depression, pain, suffering, and more present in each and every one of the characters. There’s something horrible in each and every person on screen–and it’s not always because they are bad people, but sometimes because they are burdened with daunting, crippling knowledge. These performances are stellar, hard-hitting, and emotionally charged–drawing me close to tears over and over again.
Everyone, and I mean every single actor allows emotion to rise to the surface, to grab hold of them and guide them through The Fabelmans. Not a second passes when the film doesn’t tug at your heartstrings–and the charge is led by, well, everyone. Williams, LaBelle, Dano, Seth Rogan (Bennie Loewy), and others are perfect, creating emotion seemingly out of thin air. Comedy, drama, and every emotion in between comes to be throughout the course of The Fabelmans, and it honestly becomes hard to swallow as a result of how real it all feels. I look at these characters and I see real pain, not something created to help develop a film or a story–I see actors that have allowed years of real pain manifest itself in a way that makes them better performers. Something about The Fabelmans feels like it’s deeper than what’s depicted on screen–like everything being depicted throughout this film is a representation of real life, making every instance more powerful and moving.
In a film about filmmaking, the cinematography better be perfect–and it is. Director of Photography Janusz Kaminski finds ways to showcase more than one character at a time. Even when Sammy, Mitzi, or some other character is meant to be the center of attention, the characters in the background are able to play just as important of a role–and the reason that is able to happen (other than the spectacular performances) is Kaminski. The Fabelmans doesn’t work if every character isn’t presented to viewers in the right light, at the right time–and Kaminski does a brilliant job of pulling characters to the foreground, shining light on them, and letting them lead the way throughout the film–even when they sit in the background, playing a seemingly supplemental role to the film’s leads. Everything works for Kaminski–or, rather, he makes it work.
The Fabelmans has been nominated for seven Academy Awards, and while the possibility exists that it takes each and every one of them home, I believe that Director Steve Spielberg has the best chance of taking home an award for Best Director. However, in a stacked category for Best Picture, The Fabelmans deserves its place at the table–and there’s no doubt in my mind, with all of its stellar attributes, that it will make a splash at this year’s Academy Awards.
Directed by Steve Spielberg.
Written by Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner.
Starring Michelle Williams, Gabriel LaBelle, Paul Dano, Judd Hirsch, Seth Rogen, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
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