Movie Review: 'The Fabelmans' is Slightly Disappointing

The Fabelmans (2022)

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Written by Tony Kushner

Starring Paul Dano, Michelle Williams,

Release Date November 18th, 2022

I am not here to call out any of my fellow film critics. Like what you like and make your review whatever you want it to be. That said, I have made the mistake of reviewing the movie I wanted to see versus the movie that I wish the movie had been. I bring this up because I have seen a few fellow critics asking for the new Steven Spielberg movie, The Fabelmans to be a different movie. They want to see Spielberg tell a story about becoming a filmmaker in Hollywood in the late 60s and early 70s. The Fabelmans is, instead, about Spielberg's childhood, the roots of his dreams of becoming a filmmaker.

We have to review the movie that The Fabelmans is and not the film we wish it were. I understand the motivation, I really do, because I didn't find The Fabelmans particularly satisfying. This coming-of-age story feels a bit flabby, broad, and lacking in insight for my taste. It's not a Steven Speilberg biopic, it's a romanticized, fictional take on the unusual memories that shaped one of our greatest filmmakers. It has moments of grace and lovely intentions, but the feather lightness of the material never gains weight.

The Fabelmans begins with young Sammy Fabelman seeing his first movie, the Best Picture winning The Greatest Show on Earth. The final moments of that film contain a remarkable train crash, the staging of which is why the movie won Best Picture. It's a remarkable achievement that crosscuts miniatures and a real staging brilliantly considering the limitations of technology in 1956. It makes sense that Sammy would find this sequence pivotal, a flashpoint in his life that he never forgot.

Having become obsessed with this sequence, Sammy takes the toy train set that his father. Burt (Paul Dano), painstakingly assembled for him as a series of Hanukkah gifts and recreates the scene. Putting a car on the tracks and his train running at it, Sammy is lucky not to destroy his new expensive toys. While Burt is upset with his son, Sammy's mom, Mitzi (Michelle Williams), sees things differently. She knows that Sammy needs to understand how the train accident was done, the magic of the movie must be recreated.

Thus, Mitzi gives Sammy his father's camera. She tells him to film it one time and then he won't have to destroy his toys to understand the movie. Sammy, doesn't quite listen to his mom's advice. Instead, he films the scene multiple times from different angles and then arranges the shots in a way that mirrors editing, though isn't quite cutting film. He's able to show it to his mom and she's blown away with his talent and encourages him to keep working with dad's camera. This is the genesis of Sam Fabelman, film director.

Cut to teenage Sammy, now Sam (Gabrielle Labelle). Now a boy scout and seeking his photography badge, Sam uses his Boy Scout pals to be part of his first movie. Inspired by a showing of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Sam is going to make a western. It's a huge hit with his friends, fellow boy scouts, and his family, each of whom are blown away by Sam's talent and dedication. This leads to another movie, this time a war drama that earns tears from his mom and applause from everyone else.

This is the surface however, as life is changing behind the scenes. While on a family camping trip, Sam captures images of his mom that are beautiful but also revealing of a family secret bubbling under the surface, one that threatens to blow up the family dynamic that has been Sam's backbone as he has grown his hobby into his potential future. How will the upheaval effect Sam? That's what The Fabelmans becomes all about as the movie takes the action from small town Arizona to California where Sam's dad is at the forefront of the burgeoning home computing industry.

The Greatest Show on Earth and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance are touchstones that mean more than they might seem. The themes of both films emerge organically to help define The Fabelmans. They bring depth to a story that needs some depth as the movie plays a little soft throughout, even as things get serious, and themes of familial strife and antisemitism emerge but fail to gain much weight or momentum.

The Greatest Show on Earth ends on a tragedy that someone tries to prevent but can't. That is reflected in Sam seeing the familial fallout coming but being unable to stop it. It's about a circus and there are few better metaphors for movies or for families. Life is a big circus and behind the scenes, the managed chaos is day to day life, the family meals, the arguments, the bonding, it's part of the life of a circus and the life of a family.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance meanwhile, is famous for the line "Print the legend," something that is reflected in how The Fabelmans is a story that is reflective of the legend of director Steven Speilberg. This isn't his real story, it's a fictionalized, highly romanticized version of the story of Steven Speilberg, he's essentially used this movie, The Fabelmans, to "Print the Legend." That's a really lovely idea, well expressed through the use of a cultural touchstone from the life of Steven Speilberg.

The most talked about scene in The Fabelmans happens at the very end. Sam Fabelman now in college and looking to break into Hollywood, gets an unexpected opportunity. While interviewing for a job on a TV show, he's introduced to a legendary filmmaker, played by real life legendary filmmaker, David Lynch. It's a terrific scene but it plays more like Steven Speilberg fan service than anything that ties together the disparate themes the film touches on. The movie needed a moment that ties the past to the present and introduces the future and it does that for Sam the filmmaker but fails to do anything for any other aspect of the movie.

I found the family elements of The Fabelmans a little undercooked, a little underdeveloped. In an effort to be as fair as possible to the family characters that many will assume are part of Steven Spielberg's real life, the film mutes some of the bigger emotions at play. A character played by Seth Rogen is essential to this part of the movie and unfortunately, he lacks depth. The character isn't fleshed out enough, he's not a big enough part of the narrative to give his part in the film the impact I felt the movie was going for.

The Fabelmans is not a bad movie. It's often quite good. It's poignant and sweet but it's feather light. The film carries little weight. The familial story is given a large spotlight but little in the way of a cathartic resolution. The homage to film history is lovely and well-presented but what does the scene at the end do to tie it all together? For me, it doesn't do enough. It plays very cool, but it doesn't quite work for me as a way to tie the movie together and the movie needed that. The Fabelmans needed a final scene that brought it all together and Spielberg chose a scene that was cool. I can appreciate that, but I didn't find it satisfying.

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