The Fabelmans (2022)

The idea of Steven Spielberg directing a biographical movie about Steven Spielberg did sound interesting because of the director's status so I prepared myself to be swayed by the magic of cinema. The film was hyped up to another level by my fellow cinephiles and while I did find it enjoyable, there was one glaring element that might not make it as interesting to the casual moviegoers. See, the key selling point of The Fabelmans is that the protagonist is Spielberg but if someone watches the movie without knowing it, then it is reduced to a rather basic stretched out story of a boy making amateur films.

With plenty of warmth and care, Spielberg presents a tale of his teenage years when he first picked up a camera and discovered the passion for the art of filmmaking. It's a joyful film with humor, drama and spirit and yet, it shows how Spielberg's life was completely average without anything extraordinary or dramatic to make it into a gripping story. He had educated parents who loved him, his family was well off financially and he was free to pursue his passion without a care in the world. While there is definitely nothing wrong with growing up this way, it doesn't make for an interesting or inspirational movie.

The film does a great job in showing the power of editing which is often taken for granted. Here, it's one of the main reasons why Spielberg's amateur films worked so well while showing how he has always been creating new concepts and bending boundaries of filmmaking that turned him into a legendary director. Ironically, The Fablemans itself suffers from poor editing as it could have easily removed 30 minutes.

The Fabelmans is also a story of Steven's parents and the scenes involving them injected some much needed emotion and drama. The movie has a nice grainy filter that creates the cozy feel-good atmosphere and the actor chemistry allowed it to flow despite the excessive runtime. The technical elements of movie making were presented in an easy to understand way without boring the audience with complexities. I was wondering if the film would end in some cliche fashion and thankfully, it had a nice cinema-esque conclusion.

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