The Fabelmans
Movie, 2022, The 2020s, Set in A piano score
The Fabelmans is #28 of 29 in release order and #28 of 29 in chronological order in the John Williams.
The story
Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.
The Fabelmans recap
The Fabelmans (2022) follows Sammy Fabelman, a boy in 1950s New Jersey and Arizona who falls for filmmaking while his parents' marriage comes apart. Steven Spielberg directs and co-writes this coming-of-age drama with Tony Kushner, loosely based on his own youth. After seeing The Greatest Show on Earth, young Sammy films a toy train crash with his father's camera. As a teenager, Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle) makes war and western films with his friends. His mother Mitzi Fabelman (Michelle Williams), a pianist, encourages his art, while his father Burt Fabelman (Paul Dano), an engineer, calls it a hobby. Burt's best friend Bennie Loewy (Seth Rogen) is always around. Great-uncle Boris (Judd Hirsch) warns him that art and family will always pull against each other. Editing home footage of a camping trip, Sammy sees that Mitzi and Bennie are in love. In California he faces antisemitic bullies. Williams writes a gentle piano score, much of it in solo piano, that reflects Mitzi's playing; the film follows The Rise of Skywalker in this list and comes before Dial of Destiny.
The Fabelmans ending explained
The Fabelmans ends with a young Sammy meeting director John Ford (David Lynch), who tells him never to put the horizon in the middle of the frame, and the camera then tilting to obey. Mitzi and Burt divorce. Sammy's film of the senior Ditch Day makes a hero of the bully Logan, which upsets him, and Monica breaks up with Sammy. Sammy lives with Burt in Los Angeles, and Burt accepts his choice. The film is dedicated to Spielberg's parents.
Post-credits scenes
No. The Fabelmans has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch The Fabelmans
The Fabelmans is streaming on Peacock and Fandango at Home Free in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.5/10, Rotten Tomatoes 92%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, before Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
- Chronological order: after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, before Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
Cast
- Michelle Williams as Mitzi Fabelman
- Paul Dano as Burt Fabelman
- Seth Rogen as Benny Loewy
- Gabriel LaBelle as Sammy Fabelman
- Mateo Zoryan Francis-DeFord as Younger Sammy Fabelman
- Keeley Karsten as Natalie Fabelman
- Alina Brace as Young Natalie Fabelman
- Julia Butters as Reggie Fabelman
- Birdie Borria as Younger Reggie Fabelman
- Judd Hirsch as Uncle Boris
- Sophia Kopera as Lisa Fabelman
- Jeannie Berlin as Hadassah Fabelman
Directed by Steven Spielberg.