“The Fabelmans (2022)
A very ordinary disappointment.
A very ordinary disappointment.
I’ve been a fan of the films of Steven Spielberg for not only my adult cinema going life but for my life entire. From watching a malfunctioning mechanical monster named “Bruce” who terrorised Amity Island through to yesterday evening and his semi-autobiographical account of falling in love with cinema and movie making as a young child of the early 1950’s, I’ve been a fan of the films of Steven Spielberg my entire life. Of the 34 officially credited full length feature films on his triple Oscar winning CV, I’ve seen 26 and I’ll leave you to scramble as to which 8 films have passed me by over the decades. Chronologically speaking, I adore and have great, great affection for Jaws and ET: The Extra-Terrestrial both of which I originally watched as a child on the very first VHS video players of the time and I had the great pleasure of seeing Jaws on the big screen for the first time some years ago at a film festival. Delving back in a DeLorean time machine for a moment, I love, but not adore, Close Encounters of the Third Kind but the adoration resumes for the original Indiana Jones trilogy and I can, will and have watched these three films at the drop of a fedora hat, back to back, and on far too many occasions to admit to publicly. Schindler’s List is three decades old this year, as is the original Jurassic Park and from Saving Private Ryan at the turn of the century I’d argue that Steven Spielberg had critically acclaimed hit after hit, from A.I. Artificial Intelligence (watch it again if you’re unsure — it’s beautiful!), to the sadly ever prescient Minority Report, the bubbling true life tale of Catch Me If You Can, the beautifully understated The Terminal and whilst I love and admire War of the Worlds, I blooming adore Munich. The Adventures of Tin Tin joined Jaws, ET and Jurassic Park as huge favourites of my growing son and as he became a young teen, so we added The BFG and Ready Player One to the Spielbergian films of recent times that I still reserve for me and me alone: films such Lincoln, The Post and the underrated masterpiece that is Bridge of Spies.
So I’ve been a fan of the films of Steven Spielberg for my entire life.
I rarely write film reviews of ordinary or underwhelming films (though you’re bucking the trend in 2023! Film Editor) purely because I’m a film fan, not a critic per se and I always have this nagging doubt as to my credibility to critique anything, let alone film. How can I possibly criticise a film directed by Steven Spielberg! To this end, I rarely lambast a film either and I will certainly not be doing so here but I just found The Fabelmans to be rather ordinary, underwhelming and crucially, without a genuine heart until the final frames of the film.
Then again, what do I know?
For on 13th March 2023 at the Ovation Hollywood, The Fabelmans is nominated for seven Academy Awards!
From New Jersey 1952 and The Greatest Show on Earth through to Hogan’s Heroes and the heart of the film in a Hollywood of 1965, this semi-autobiographical account and love letter to the medium of film sees Sammy Fabelman grow from inquisitive child into the late teenage years of Steven Spielberg finding the horizon, and seeking a break into the life of his cinematic dreams. Moving from New Jersey to California via Arizona, the film can also be seen as somewhat of a mother/son tale of “secret movies”, parent/child pacts and the angst of the coming of age years of adolescence mired in dreams of a “hobby” that is anything but and all whilst watching two estranged parents drifting further and further apart. One is a melancholic artist. The other a straight laced, starch collared methodical thinker and planner. It’s therefore no surprise at all that young Sammy grows into the meticulously organised chaser of cinematic dreams in a Hollywood of the 1960's.
The younger Sammy is played well by Mateo Zoryan before taking off and flourishing in the hands of Gabriel LaBelle and whilst Paul Dano excels as ever as the stiff backed computer engineer who is both of the time period and ahead of his technological time, it’s the nods, glances and motherly love of Michelle Williams that are vibrantly evidenced again and again, giving rise to Williams’ fifth career Oscar nomination. Joining Michelle in the Oscar nominations is Judd Hirsch for his scene stealing cameo as a family uncle who comes and goes in a blur with very little screen time but with a telling reinforcement for Sammy to follow his dreams. “Art is our drug” he exclaims before promptly departing from a film he steals for barely a few minutes. This is Hirsch’s second all time Oscar nomination and a staggering 42 years since his nomination for 1980’s Ordinary People. A huge cast support these central, stand out roles with Seth Rogen and Julia Butters particularly noteworthy as well as a famous cameo and an incredible scene spoiled by seemingly everyone but me.
The Fabelmans is a classically beautiful filmed tale of following your childhood dreams but despite my lifelong fanaticism for the films of Steven Spielberg I found it a little bland, uninteresting and without real heart. That said however, with this being Michelle Williams fifth all time Oscar nomination, Judd Hirsch’s second after a 42 year gap, three nods for Spielberg alone and lifelong musical collaborator John Williams’ 53rd nomination (53rd!), this could well be, in Oscar parlance, “The Fabelmans year”.
Thanks for reading. Just for larks as always, and always a human reaction rather than spoilers galore. My three most recently published film articles are linked below or there’s well over 200 blog articles (with 400+ individual film reviews) within my archives from which to choose:
“You People” (2023)
Dreadful bore-fest.medium.com
“Triangle of Sadness” (2022)
“I’m not obsessed with money!”medium.com
“Mindcage” (2022)
This Se7en rip off is a deadly sin.medium.com