Review – The Fabelmans (2022) directed by Steven Spielberg.
Watched on December 19th, 2022
Rating: 5/5 Stars
A funny little thing that happens to me every now and then with a good movie is that I’ll be watching the movie and be completely engrossed and lost in it, and then I find that suddenly I snap out of it and come back to this place of realizing “okay, I’m watching a movie right now.” And that’s not to say it’s some dramatic or jarring thing, I just have a moment where I come back to reality. And in a way, I absolutely love and cherish those moments, because for a short while, I can tangibly appreciate just how magical and transportive movies can be. I can sit back for a second while still within a movie, and just appreciate how much it brought me in. It’s a small and fleeting moment, but it lets me truly appreciate what a wonder it is to be enraptured by a film.
This was just so well-made. On paper and on camera this was just masterclass work in every way. Spielberg’s story is just fascinating, and it always felt genuine without being self-indulgent. You could tell this movie was made with so much care and so much heart, and it pays off in every single way, not to mention that the filmmaking and directing is outstanding. What wowed me the most was a few moments when Spielberg chose to hone in and linger on characters’ reactions to the things they see, rather that cutting to or simply showing what a character is looking at; he knows that we know what they see, so seeing their reaction is more powerful. I was completely enamored from start to end. And I didn’t feel this movie’s 2 hour and 30 minute runtime at all, it flew by. And I could tell, considering I watched the 3-hour-long Avatar sequel just yesterday. Not only was this movie just engrossing, but I think it affirmed something for me: I think Steven Spielberg might be my favorite director, on a technical and emotional level.
I don’t know if I’ll ever have enough to say about this movie. It was so moving and inspiring, especially as someone pursuing film. I’m not always super confident in my abilities as a filmmaker or even someone working in any film-related job that might not ever be production. I fell in love with film just before I went to college, and because of that I’m not at film school, nor am I pursuing a film major because my school doesn’t offer that. Sometimes I feel a bit behind in life, or occasionally like it’s too late to jump in, but something about this movie just gave me so much inspiration. I saw myself in this, as tacky as that is to say. It made me feel like I could truly do anything if I loved it enough. It makes me want to pick up the camera and make sometime immediately, to tell some sort of story that speaks to me. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a movie that’s given me this much motivation and inspiration, and I’m going to run with that feeling as long as it takes me, and then even further than that.
MINOR SPOILER
This movie affirmed that fact that you truly can’t have a David Lynch movie without a monkey somewhere in the film. And yeah, that final scene with him (and final shot and flourish of the camera) was truly perfect.
Check out the original review posted on Letterboxd here.
