Saw The Fabelmans tonight and I actually enjoyed it, despite misgivings that it would be overtly schmaltzy Spielberg fare which should've been verbally communicated to his long-suffering therapist. It had a lot of heart. It did take a good while to really decide where it was going though. Michelle Williams I wasn't sure if the quirkiness was signifying an embellished memory or not but then I got it as her storyline progressed.
I've still to properly do a read back of interviews and press for the film so it will be interesting to see how much is Spielberg's life story and how much is poetic license. Gabrielle LaBelle started doing a Steven Spielberg impression in the third act, which was doubled up by dressing him like Dustin Hoffman in the late 60s, as if to make it completely obvious to Americans that he was Jewish. It just seemed to come out of the blue, like they thought that they had to really telegraph this, cause during the second act that aspect of the character wasn't jumping out of the screen.
I've still to properly do a read back of interviews and press for the film so it will be interesting to see how much is Spielberg's life story and how much is poetic license. Gabrielle LaBelle started doing a Steven Spielberg impression in the third act, which was doubled up by dressing him like Dustin Hoffman in the late 60s, as if to make it completely obvious to Americans that he was Jewish. It just seemed to come out of the blue, like they thought that they had to really telegraph this, cause during the second act that aspect of the character wasn't jumping out of the screen.
I really liked the coda sequence where Sam gets advice on the horizon; it's exactly the sort of chat you get from mavericks that you meet in your early career that you never forget. And I loved that Spielberg then used it to set up that final laugh in the last few seconds.
Also, one more thing I need to write down or I'll forget it. Just today I was reading about the Glass House trope; where cinema convention always puts unhappy and unfulfilled rich people in homes with walls that are mostly windows - it popped back into my head when the kids were being shown round the last house move and then boom the next scene, Michelle Williams is explaining the divorce to the kids. Absolutely played straight here.
(I also had the melody from "Flowers" in the back of my mind when the kids were throwing shapes in the empty glass house, just like the Miley video)
Also, one more thing I need to write down or I'll forget it. Just today I was reading about the Glass House trope; where cinema convention always puts unhappy and unfulfilled rich people in homes with walls that are mostly windows - it popped back into my head when the kids were being shown round the last house move and then boom the next scene, Michelle Williams is explaining the divorce to the kids. Absolutely played straight here.
(I also had the melody from "Flowers" in the back of my mind when the kids were throwing shapes in the empty glass house, just like the Miley video)
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