On the surface, "The Fabelmans" is very much a passion project for director Steven Spielberg, it being essentially an autobiography of his early years. But of course, Spielberg is too smart/savvy to simply make a film for his own liking. Within his own story, he interweaves themes about the power of film and its influence (and the opposite) on family. One's ability to interpret and/or appreciate those "deeper cuts" will largely determine their enjoyment.

For a very basic overview, "The Fabelmans" tells the story of Sammy Fabelman (young: Mateo Zoryan; adolescent: Gabriel LaBelle), a boy obsessed with the cinema and making movies. While witnessing his artistically-inclined mother Mitzi (Michelle Williams) and straight-laced--if well-meaning--father Burt (Paul Dano) interact with the world, Sam struggles with the "art vs family/stability" conflict as he reaches high school age and a little beyond.

At face value, "The Fabelmans" may be disappointing for some. It is far from the rip-roaring adventures or immaculate dramas that largely perpetuate his filmography. It is a very straight-ahead family drama without a ton of surprises. In a certain sense, it sort of violates the principle that artistic expression shouldn't be an exact re-telling, but rather an endeavor to transfer an emotion from person to person.

But the deeper level is where "Fabelmans" will likely rise/fall ratings-wise. As the expected Spielberg/Fabelman story plays out, there is a steady undercurrent of the power of film (and film-making, by extension). Over and over again, Sammy witnesses his film endeavors elicit reactions from others that are wholly unexpected to him. This is the true message of the film.

Personally, though of course "Fabelmans" is expertly crafted/shot, I give it a just-about-average 6/10 stars because I'm not a huge fan of analyzing the power of cinema on such a deep level. I love movies--but not so much digging "behind the scenes" on why/how moving pictures move us like that do. I will fully concede that those who enjoy that more meta-commentary will absolutely love this picture.

All in all, I think I like the Spielberg mythos to stay exactly that--spread out in the characters that populate his enormous resume. To me, "The Fabelmans" was a little too on-the-nose and a little too reverent about the power of film to be truly engaging/exciting beyond the "well-made" label.