Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle-teen/adult, Mateo Zoryon Francis-Deford- young) grows up dealing with his anxieties by discovering a love of film that is encouraged by his pianist mother Mitzi (Michelle Williams) while Sammy's father Burt (Paul Dano) sees it more as a hobby. As Sammy goes through childhood, his teenage years, and finally early adulthood, Sammy also must deal with the flaws of his family that leads to the Fabelman family coming apart.

The Fabelmans is the latest film from director Steven Spielberg and is based upon the director's childhood. The origins for the film date back to 1999 wherein Spielberg had discussions with his sister Anne Spielberg for the project titled "I'll Be Home" but Spielberg put the project on the backburner out of respect for his family as he wasn't comfortable due to the possible responses from his family notably his parents. Spielberg revisited the idea many times notably in 2004 with a discussion with screenwriter and playwright Tony Kushner to whom Spielberg told his life story with Kushner telling Spielberg he'll have to make a movie about it. Following work development began on the film during the filming of Spielberg's 2021 version of West Side Story with Spielberg co-writing the script with Kushner in his first credited screenwriting role since A. I.: Artificial Intelligence. The movie as expected for an award season prestige piece is as expected a celebration of filmmaking and the power of cinema, but it's also a very vulnerable film and easily ranks as one of Spielberg's finest films.

Gabriel LaBelle is really strong as Sammy Fabelman and he does a good channeling the passion for filmmaking as well as the emotional turmoil as he struggles with his uneasy family dynamic. Michelle Williams is also very good as Sammy's troubled mother Mitzi who while a loving and encouraging mother also hides a sadness and pain behind her smile that eventually becomes too great to hide. Paul Dano is also very strong as Sammy's father Burt who is a very careful and softspoken man who while appreciative of Sammy's talents tries to encourage Sammy towards more "practical" avenues and the contrast and friction between Mitzi and Burt is a key part of where the story's core is and neither parent is "the bad guy" as Sammy gets life lessons and practical knowledge from both to make him who he is but that same friction eventually serves to drive the two of them apart. Seth Rogen does well playing an against type role as the Fabelman's family friend Bennie Loewy and while he keeps a lot of his likability and humor from certain performances he's given added depth when his relationship to the Fabelmans is explored further in. Despite the movie having moments of heartbreak and emotional turmoil, the movie also shows the beauty that can come from family, even in the case of very messy ones. Sammy's interactions with his sisters Anne and Reggie when he makes his short films due endear us to the family and make us love them as characters. Aside from the strong writing and emotional resonance of the way in which Spielberg and Kushner tell Spielberg's life story, stylistically speaking the movie is a love letter to cinema and also includes subtle nods that link back to the director's iconic works and you can see the DNA of scenes from Poltergeist, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Goonies, E. T. and even Jaws in the way Spielberg sets up and frames these scenes from his past and you get the sense of where his approach for those films came from in his life.

I loved the Fabelmans and this is probably in my "top 10" of films of 2022 you owe it to yourself to see. Spielberg and Kushner's script is rich with humor, heartbreak, and hope and the cast all do amazing work in their respective roles. The film is stylistically rich with a love of moviemaking and I wholeheartedly recommend this film not just to fans of Spielberg or moviemaking, but to anyone who wants to see a strong familial drama.