“It feels like my life is going by so fast, but it's not getting anywhere.”

This has honestly got to be one of the biggest and most pleasant surprises I have ever had with a movie. I expected a poignant and extremely well-made film, and that was definitely what I got, but there was also so much more to it than just that. It’s a movie that feels so personal, and it spoke to me in such an incredible and resonant way.

In addition to feeling incredibly personal, it also feels extremely real and grounded. I know the story that this is based on is just a bit exaggerated for cinematic purposes, but it really doesn’t feel that way at all. The main protagonist, Sam Fabelman, who represents Steven Spielberg growing up, goes through life experiencing so many different things, whether it be issues with his family or bullying. However, there is this truly profound but also grounded feel to it that not many other movies I’ve seen have. Even some of the best stories I’ve watched still have a very fictional and exaggerated feel to them, but The Fabelmans doesn’t at all. The events that this film is based on almost don’t even feel like they were changed at all to fit the format of a screenplay.

The family story here is so interesting, too. Everything feels a bit “normal” at first and, while still interesting, a bit paint-by-numbers until a certain turning point happens a little bit into the runtime. I’m not going to go into anything specific, but if you’ve seen the movie, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. This was the part of the film where it started to click with me why Steven Spielberg wanted to tell this story, and why it meant so much to him.

And despite it being a movie made by Steven Spielberg about himself, it never goes into the territory of it seeming like he is just praising himself, because the story isn’t just about him. His character goes through struggles and challenges in life, as well as triumphs, but also makes so many mistakes along the way. This probably sounds a bit cheesy, but I gained so much more respect for Spielberg, not only as a filmmaker, but as a person, after watching this movie.

As I said, with the story being personal and resonant to me, I think that’s why I connected with it so much. As with a lot of other people who watched this movie, I can imagine, I have my own filmmaking desires and aspirations, so honestly, some of my favorite parts were the more joyful moments where Sam just picks up a movie camera and goes for it. It’s not just a resonant movie for people with filmmaking goals, though, as this story really is about what it’s like to feel a sense of tension between following your dreams and feeling this sense of burden with what you feel like you need to do, instead of what you want to do.

Unsurprisingly, the acting is on point and only adds to the sense of realism that I’ve already mentioned about a thousand times by now. None of the characters in The Fabelmans feels like they are acting, but rather that they are real people, not just because they were, but because they were directed and written so well. The dialogue is extremely powerful and not over-the-top in any way, which also, of course, helps.

Spielberg continues his trend of getting the absolute best performances out of younger actors, because the guy who plays Sam (Gabriel LaBelle) does a tremendous job. Michelle Williams and Paul Dano are also in this movie (playing his parents), but I never got the sense that they were standing out with their performances in comparison to LaBelle. To put it in a better way, I guess, it never felt like they were outacting him in any way whatsoever. His performance was just as strong as theirs, if not even more so.

Speaking of Michelle Williams, her nomination for best actress was so well deserved, though I’m not sure why it was best actress and not best supporting actress, because I never felt like she was the main character. Maybe that’s just me, though. Anyways, her character has by far the most demand in terms of delivering not only a good but a great performance because of the story, and Williams honestly went above and beyond what I could have expected. There is so much weight behind her impact on the story as well as Sam’s life, and all of it is definitely felt.

Despite it being directed by the most famous director of all time, I still feel like The Fabelmans is underrated. By far my favorite movie I’ve seen of Spielberg’s so far, and I only see myself liking it more on rewatch.