Ivan Radford | On 31, Dec 2023

Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Gabriel LaBelle, Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Judd Hirsch
Certificate: 12

“They’re like dreams,” explains Sam’s mother, Mitzi (Michelle Williams), as they prepare to take the young boy to the cinema for the first time. “Dreams are scary,” comes the reply. “Some dreams are,” she reassures him, “but this is gonna be a nice dream.” What ensues is a formative viewing of The Greatest Show on Earth – a trip to the pictures that, not coincidentally, is reminiscent of the formative experience that director Steven Spielberg had as a kid when his parents took him to see Cecil B DeMille’s 1925 circus flick. Whether or not Speilberg was quite so impacted by the sight of a train wreck on the big screen, The Fabelmans is a beautifully personal love letter to the movies – and, more than that, to how movies are essential to life, particularly his.

Written by Tony Kushner, the 150-minute epic takes us through Sam’s younger years, played initially by Mateo Zoryon Francis-DeFord with wide-eyed wonder, then by Gabriel LaBelle with a burgeoning sense of confidence. That progression, captured brilliantly by both actors, is intrinsically tied to his growing passion for cinema. At first, he’s haunted by the larger-than-life train tumbling off the rails, with recurring nightmares that replay the sequence. Then, his mum buys him an 8mm camera so that he can re-stage the crash with his own toy train sets. She wants him to be able to own the trauma, and what emerges over the two and half hours is a study of how art is a way not of escaping life’s troubles but of processing them – and, in some way, controlling them.

That bubbles to the surface in several heart-wrenching, and sometimes heartwarming, moments that are gorgeously filtered through a lens of nostalgia. A home movie of a family holiday brings into sharp focus the power that editing has in the creative process, deciding what facts to cut and what memories to highlight. A school outing caught on camera leads to a hilarious and thoughtful encounter with an antisemitic bully, who can’t understand how and why Sam has portrayed him in a certain light – Sam Rechner is superb at capturing the uncertainties and insecurities surrounding the line between reality and on-screen depiction.

These nuances are so moving because they dovetail so neatly with Sam’s coming-of-age – it’s a journey that’s both emotional and artistic. Spielberg gently delves into the teenaged tensions around Sam’s cultural and religious identity as a Jew, as Sam finds himself a first love interest in the form of Monica (the hilarious Chloe East), a deeply Christian girl whose passion for Jesus is only surpassed by her passion for boys.

His home life is just as thoughtfully observed, with Paul Dano perfectly cast as his dad, Burt, a straight-laced engineer who sees everything in terms of problem-solving and mechanics. He has an appreciation of Sam’s ambitious film-making endeavours – full of low-cost, ingenious gimmicks to imitate Hollywood, which Spielberg recreates with glee – but not quite the creative love that Sam’s mom shares. Michelle Williams is wonderful as a pianist who gave up her career to raise their children, and struggles with regret, depression and most of all unrequited feelings for “Uncle” Bennie (an excellent, understated Seth Rogen).

The domestic challenges and frustrations of Sam’s parent’s marriage float unspoken around the frame, crystallising in awkward dinner arguments, tearful walks alone or, more often than not, crouching in the cupboard peeking at private film projections. Amid the slow, ponderous pacing, Judd Hirsch makes a boisterous cameo as Uncle Boris, a circus performer who warns Sam that art and family will tear him apart – an appearance only rivalled by an exchange with a notable film director later on, whose flippant advice reinforces the sentimental wisdom Sam has accrued – that, above all, it’s how you frame events that matters. Spielberg’s precise mastery of storytelling has been evident since his first film. Years later, that remains true – and this is a handsome, moving, mature reflection on that enduring dream.

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