Spielberg's Wonder Years

Everybody has a childhood and parents that form them.   And, as it turns out, famed director Steven Spielberg is no different.  Hiding behind a fictitious family name, we see that he is just like one of us.   Coming from a family that has its ups and downs and trials and tribulations.   Those events formed Steven.   And we can all identify with a little part of "The Fabelmans."

Even with the phony last name, I would venture to guess that 99 percent of what happens in this movie actually was part of Spielberg's youth.  It feels personal and organic so much so that it couldn't be anything but true.  There is the very early affinity for making home movies.   Relatives that we like and relatives that we can't stand.  School pals that are nice and school pals that are evil.  Most importantly, there are two loving parents whose marriage, like so many of our parents, had its challenges.

While both parents of "Sam" are adoring but not without their faults, it is the mother figure that stands out most in the Fabelman clan.   Played beautifully in an Oscar-nominated performance by Michelle Williams, her life helps to shape her son's world the most.   And it's Dad's (also a fine performance by Paul Dano) insistence Sam make a film out of a family camping trip that propels so much of the action not only for the parents but their son as well.  Indeed, I identified so much with this portion of the film.   And I am guessing a lot of you will as well.

Spielberg wrote this movie with playwright Tony Kushner during 2020 when COVID shut down the industry.  What shows up on the screen seems to be a bit of a catharsis for the director.   Perhaps he was processing a lot in retrospect.   The issues with his folks.   The influence of his Uncle Boris...another Oscar-nominated turn by Judd Hirsch, who really is on screen for no more than ten minutes.   The uncomfortable high school years which were seasoned by a bit of anti-Semitism.  Dating a Christian religious zealot.

It's all there in life snippets that are episodic very much like the old TV show "The Wonder Years."  Just as in life, some of the segments work better than others.   And, with a running time of 151 minutes, Spielberg should have chosen to take another pass through the editing process.  Perhaps several of the episodes could have wound up on the cutting room floor.     But who wanted to be the one to tell Steven to cut out parts of his life.   

"The Fabelmans" also marks another Oscar nomination for Spielberg's usual composer John Williams this time with a understated but compelling musical score.  And the last scene with director David Lynch playing another legendary director John Ford closes the film appropriated as Sam/Steven arrives in Hollywood to start his career.

Several friends of mine voiced disappointment with "The Fabelmans" as they wanted to see more of his life as a director.  Um, Spielberg wasn't going to make that movie.  Nor should he have.   Because the point he wanted to convey is how much our childhoods...and our parents...form what we become in life.

Hopefully, Steven's journey here results in another Best Director Oscar.  But, even if it doesn't, I am sure the trip down memory lane was a productive one for him.   

LEN'S RATING:  Three-and-a-half stars (losing a half star because of the length of the film).

Dinner last night:  Craving breakfast again...French toast.