The Fabelmans is a slightly overly long but beautiful and emotionally raw ode to Spielberg's childhood that also shows the power of cinema, the magic of its technical achievements, it's addictive and all consuming nature and how it has the ability to make or break a person.

Gabriel LaBelle gives an incredible lead performance with his ability to convey so much without any dialogue, conveying his own amazement at filmmaking effortlessly. Paul Dano is terrific as a truly nice guy who frustratingly just can't understand the desire to make films.

Michelle Williams goes for broke in an extremely over the top performance that thankfully pays off. Judd Hirsch only has scene but his performance lingers long after with a fierce and intimidating presence that hammers home the cost of art.

Steven Spielberg's direction is amazing, his trademark for subtly understated one takes remains and is always a pleasure to see and the film looks gorgeous from beginning to end thanks to long time collaborator Janusz Kaminski's immaculate cinematography.