The Fabelmans

RATING (* * * * 2022 ‧ Drama/Coming-of-age story ‧ 2h 31m)

Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.

Steven Spielberg's fictionalised account of his own childhood and adolescence in the 1950s and early '60s is done in his usual fluid, inviting style, but it's one of his least sentimental movies, and ultimately something of a self-critique. Played as a teenager by newcomer Gabriel LaBelle, Spielberg's alter ego Sammy Fabelman is a gifted but emotionally recessive kid who is always willing to put his passion for filmmaking ahead of anything else, even as the relationship between his parents (Paul Dano and Michelle Williams, both at their best) falls apart in front of his eyes (or lens).

Cast: Michelle Williams Gabriel LaBelle Paul Dano

Release date: 5 January 2023

Official Trailer

Review

8.1/10 IMDB
92% TOMATOMETER
82% AUDIENCE SCORE


...wants to reckon in a meaningful way with the idea that cinema - like any art form - can be powerful and revealing and magical... but [also] can be just as dishonest as it is honest.


The Fabelmans is beautiful involving often spellbinding. Spielberg has now demonstrated that he can look inward as well as outward and still command every frame.


The Fabelmans is beautiful involving often spellbinding. Spielberg has now demonstrated that he can look inward as well as outward and still command every frame.