DVD REVIEW: Steven Spielberg’s ‘The Fabelmans’ tells many truths

Nominated for seven Oscars (including Best Picture and Best Director), the film shows how young Sammy Fabelman (read: Spielberg) was introduced to films and, quickly, became enamored with the process. His parents give him the tools to make his own epics and, soon, he’s able to tell great truths through film.

Among them: His mother, Mitzi (Michelle Williams), shows more than a passing interest in Bennie (Seth Rogen), a family friend who shows up just about everywhere. On a camping trip, Sammy (Gabriel LaBelle) captures moments even he didn’t see. When he splices together the shots, it shows something most didn’t see coming.

The hobby quickly becomes Sammy’s calling card. Friends gather when he’s making a film; detractors realize how powerful his skills can be. In a particularly frank section, high school Sammy is taunted by jocks who don’t “appreciate” a Jew in their midst. He’s asked to photograph Ditch Day ceremonies and, sure enough, the message maker delivers.

While “The Fabelmans” isn’t a blow-by-blow account of the Spielbergs, there are moments. Spielberg’s mother was a free spirit who, yes, had a monkey in the house. Spielberg’s father (played by Paul Dano) was a tech genius who offered a “sciences” balance to his mother’s “arts” foray.

When you watch the family at dinner, you’ll smile at mom’s efficient way of clearing the table. You’ll also love the stray relatives who wander in and out of the house (including Judd Hirsch and Jeannie Berlin as relatives with varying attitudes) and the resilience Sammy and his sisters show when they’re plopped in the middle of the desert to meet dad’s career demands.

Spielberg (who wrote the script with Tony Kushner) bathes the story in an amber glow and gives those others might chastise a second chance. The man’s optimism shines through, but edges into Neil Simon territory when he actually heads out for a career in Hollywood.

Those early films, which show how stunts and effects were accomplished, are great learning tools and a sign of the director’s dedication. When an audience (including his parents) actually gets to see them, they’re as impressed as they were watching features by the masters.

A western, a war picture and, of course, that family adventure, show progress until he gets to his calling card, “Ditch Day.”

Some of the high school characters are a bit clichéd (the one thug who delivers the most hurt has little to redeem him) but the result is effective – just the kind of seed planting a director wants to do.

LaBelle is an ideal choice as Sammy, the man with ideas. The film, though, belongs to Williams who has so many inner dramas at play it’s hard to look away. When she isn’t practicing piano, she’s blithely going on with her life in a dozen directions. When her son calls her on her extra-marital friendship, you can see how truly talented Williams is.

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