Running time: 151 minutes
Starring: Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Gabriel LaBelle, Judd Hirsch
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
The story: Sammy Fabelman discovers his love of film just as a shattering family secret comes to light.
The verdict: Last year Kenneth Branagh impressed audiences with Belfast, a love letter to his childhood and cinema. Now comes Steven Spielberg’s own ode to the very same and just as Belfast did before it, The Fabelmans has earned several Oscar nominations including one for Best Picture.
The Fabelmans boasts a plethora of great performances. Michelle Williams’ performance has garnered the most award’s attention, however I enjoyed Gabriel LaBelle’s performance most. LaBelle plays Sammy and there is something incredibly endearing about him throughout. I also related to him the most as someone who sees cinema as something of great wonder and as a source of happiness.
The Fabelmans is a coming of age but it is also a drama about family dynamics. A lot has been made about The Fabelmans being a film about cinema, but I think that at its heart that this is really a film about the love a boy has for his mother. With that in mind, I found that The Fabelmans made me feel quite emotional as I thought about the love I have for my own mum.
Whilst I was enjoying The Fabelmans a lot whilst I was watching it, throughout I did wonder whether the film would have garnered anywhere near the same critical acclaim if it wasn’t made by Spielberg. This is a deeply personal film and it may have been considered slightly alienating if it had been made by an unknown director.
However, come its parting shots, I admit that my mind had been changed. Rather than seeing this film as a slightly indulgent project from Spielberg, I instead thought how wonderful it all was. How wonderful that Spielberg has had the career to be able to do this and how wonderful that a little boy’s love of film and of his family led to this.
The rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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