The Fabelmans

 

The Fabelmans

The Fabelmans is a semi-autobiographical story by Steven Spielberg. It is a tender story of love with real life disappointments. This movie has three great things going for it: script, an ensemble cast and direction.

Gabriel LaBelle plays Sammy Fabelman who is the proxy for Spielberg. From a young age he had a passion for movies. His little movie experiments grow over time and won acclaim from family and friends. LaBelle gives a sincere performance. Family dynamics are challenging and school in antisemitic 1960’s Los Angeles is brutal. The come to Jesus moment in his girlfriend’s bedroom is hilarious.

Michelle Williams is incredible. She can go from playing Marilyn Monroe to playing Spielberg’s mother. As Mitzi she is a loving and a dedicated mother who has given up much for her family and her husband’s career, but she cannot deny her desires which reach a critical point. She plays the role as a woman on the edge and must make hard choices.

Paul Dano gives his usual laconic performance as Spielberg’s father, Burt. He is too focused on his career to see the effect on his family. He is a loving father and eventually comes to support his son’s ambitions. His relationship with his wife is complex and still loves her even when she is no longer his wife.

Seth Rogan is a delightful surprise. This a totally straight role for him without overt comic tones. However, even sitting in a chair he is funny. Rogan is Burt’s best friend and part of the family. They say comics make good actors because they have timing.

Judd Hersch is Boris, Sammy’s great uncle. Hersch is a joy. If he gets any crustier, he will turn into a loaf of bread. He was in the film business, and a lion tamer, and gives Sammy some wise advice about art.

This is the worst financial production for Spielberg. It cost $40m to make and only took in $16.9m in revenue. Which means it has a great chance for best picture at the Academy Awards. It won best picture at the Golden Globes.

 

The Post

The Post         

                                                                                                                                     January 5, 2018

In 1970 my draft number for the Vietnam war was 254, not good. My college deferment kept me out of the draft for four years. By 1974 the war was winding down along with my chances for selection. That is the closest I got to the Vietnam war.

This movie is brilliant. With the trifecta of Streep, Hanks and Spielberg it is hard to miss. They deliver on the movie’s hype. Spielberg captures the electricity of the Pentagon Papers drama. It was a time when the freedom of the press was in peril and the Nixon Justice Department was in full tilt trying to crush publication and the First Amendment. Nixon’s Machiavellian paranoia makes Trump look like a hand puppet.  

Robert McNamara was the Secretary of State under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. He commissioned the Pentagon Papers which documented the history of the war from Presidents Truman to Johnson. The study revealed lies perpetrated by the US government, political assassinations, coup de tas and clandestine wars. The study concluded the war was unwinnable.

Streep was fantastic, she delivered a master class in acting. Katrin Graham became the publisher of the Washington Post after her husband committed suicide. Graham never worked in her life and now she was the publisher of the Post. Streep displays Graham’s trepidation with darting eyes, nervous hands and heavy sighs. These nuances are make her character rich.

I am reluctant to say there was a subplot in the movie, it is more of a co-plot. In 1970 Graham was a woman in a man’s world. She sought the support and advise of the all-male board of directors. As the movie progresses she becomes her own boss with daring boldness.

Tom Hanks pays Ben Bradlee. He plays the role with a bit too much cheek. Hanks was not reinventing himself for the is role he rather was pulling in parts from older characters he played. Nonetheless, his brashness was a counterpart to Streep’s trepidation.

There are a number of other actors. Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Sol) plays Ben Bagdikian who precures the Pentagon Papers from Daniel Ellsberg. Odenkirk plays the role with a mixture determination and fear. Peddling government secrets leads to jail time. Bruce Greenwood is a dead ringer for Robert McNamara.  Even on the verge of revelations of government’s lies, he was unapologetic and still rationalizing the war.

Streep has twenty Oscar nominations and won three. I think another nomination is a good bet. Her performance is good enough to win. This movie can win best picture.