The Fablemans

Last year, Spielberg delivered the most expertly crafted film of 2021. West Side Story was a film that didn't need a remake but proved its worth — earning seven Oscar nominations. His follow-up film, The Fablemans, is a love letter to moviemaking and is his most personal film to date.

It was just named the Best Picture of 2022 by Time magazine and stands at the top of Oscar predictions for Best Picture. So that you can enjoy the film more than I did, let me dismiss all that and tell you that it's pretty good and pretty overhyped. Hopefully, you can now avoid the disappointment I felt and enjoy a pretty fine film.

The Fablemans is a family drama and a "fable" of Spielberg's coming of age between 1952 and 1965. Sammy Fableman (Mateo Zoryon Francis-DeFord) is inspired after his parents (Michelle Williams and Paul Dano) take him to see Cecil B. DeMille’s The Greatest Show on Earth. Sammy's pursuit of moviemaking as "more than a hobby" is supported by his concert pianist and artistic mom but not taken seriously by his electrical engineer dad.

That conflict is only part of the family story as Sammy's camera learns more about his family than anyone wanted. It's a heartbreaker.

On the level of craft, the film is impeccable from Spielberg's gift at wringing emotion from small moments to John Williams's soaring score. Scene by scene, everything worked. But as a whole, I never figured out which of the two stories the film wanted to be, or why it needed to be told in 151 minutes.

Kenneth Branaugh's semi-autobiographical Belfast (2021) had me invested for its clever 98 minutes. I walked out loving that film and was moved by its emotional highs and lows. That's why The Fablemans is worth your ten bucks but not the top ten hype.

In a nutshell: Steven Spielberg turns the lens on himself in a technically impressive film that ironically misses on that Spielberg magic. He didn't phone it in, but he didn't phone home either.

Where to see it: In theaters now. Available on VOD December 13th.

Award potential: It looks to be a threat in all categories from Best Picture and Director to Original Score and acting. 

Michelle Williams may win Best Actress, although her heart-wringing-wrangling scenes were undercut by her take on a 50s homemaker. To me, it was a distracting Judy Garland impression. Cate Blanchett's consistent Tar is the better performance and lacks the false bravado. There were so many scene-stealing performances (Judd Hirsch, Paul Dano, and one surprise) that these supporting slots may cancel each other out or impress with a category takeover. Time will tell.

The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.