Steven Spielberg has done it again with a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story loosely based on his adolescence. In it, we witness 16 year old Sammy Fabelman (played by a perfectly cast Gabriel LaBelle in a performance that will define his career) navigate his way through many challenges some of us may have faced in our lives, such as parental divorce, school bullying, among other things, in order to achieve his goal of becoming a filmmaker. Gabriel’s portrayal of the character shows raw emotion that makes you end up relating to and sympathizing with him through many of the scenes he’s in, and yep, you bet Sammy rules in the parts where he is filming with his camera and making his movies.
This story, brought to life through a screenplay co-written by Spielberg and Tony Kushner, literally speaks to you and resonates with anyone of any age who aspires to be an artist in any field. The rest of the performances are terrific, with Michelle Williams as Sammy's mother Mitzi being a major standout, same with Paul Dano as Sammy's father Burt, and Judd Hirsch, who gives a memorable monologue as Sammy's great uncle Boris. These 4 performances deserve tons of award nominations.
The cinematography is beautiful, as we can all expect from the great Janusz Kaminski. John Williams' score, while a bit more subdued and minimalist this time due to it being mostly driven by piano, suits the film's uplifting tone, no matter what people think of it. The pacing at times can feel slow or fast, but that does not matter, as in the end, we must always trust Spielberg to give us such a powerful and uplifting story we all need right now. Highly reccomended.
