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.
Ratings
Curator score: 8.5/10
IMDb: 7.5/10
Letterboxd: 4.00/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
Metacritic: 85
TMDB: 7.6/10
Director
Steven Spielberg
Production
Amblin Entertainment, Reliance Entertainment
Cast
Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Gabriel LaBelle, Mateo Zoryan Francis-DeFord, Keeley Karsten, Alina Brace, Julia Butters, Birdie Borria, Judd Hirsch, Sophia Kopera, Jeannie Berlin, Robin Bartlett, Sam Rechner, Oakes Fegley, Chloe East, Isabelle Kusman, Chandler Lovelle, Gustavo Escobar, Nicolas Cantu
Where to watch
Peacock, Peacock Premium Plus
Curator Review
Verdict
A deeply personal coming-of-age drama about art, family fracture, and the way movies can turn pain into meaning. It’s especially rewarding if you like emotionally open, semi-autobiographical films with strong craft and a reflective, bittersweet tone.
Best for
Steven Spielberg fans
viewers who love films about filmmaking
coming-of-age drama fans
audiences drawn to family secrets and emotional reconciliation
people who appreciate polished, classical filmmaking
Skip if
you want a plot-heavy or twist-driven story
you dislike sentimental or openly emotional filmmaking
you prefer gritty realism over polished memory-piece storytelling
you are not interested in movies about art and self-discovery
Overview
The Fabelmans is Spielberg looking back at the origins of his imagination and finding both wonder and hurt there. It’s a coming-of-age story, but also a portrait of how art becomes a survival tool when family life turns unstable. The movie is tender, precise, and often funny, with a strong sense of how a child’s obsession can become a lifelong vocation.
Worth noting
What makes it work is the balance between autobiography and emotional clarity. It doesn’t just celebrate filmmaking; it shows how movies can distort, reveal, and preserve reality all at once. The family dynamics are the real engine here, and the performances keep the film grounded even when it leans into sentiment.
Bottom line
If you respond to intimate character drama and movies about the act of making movies, this is an easy recommendation. It may feel a little polished or self-mythologizing to some viewers, but the craftsmanship and sincerity are hard to dismiss. It’s one of Spielberg’s most personal works, and one of his most moving.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Patrick Willems (4.5★) · 13823 likes
God I'm so mad I never thought of teen Spielberg's trick where he rigs a wooden board on a lever to simulate dirt explosions when he's shooting his war movie but then I also have to remember that he's Steven Spielberg and I am a dumb idiot
jonathan fujii (3★) · 12879 likes
Film students watching this and being like “he just like me fr”
Thomas Flight (4★) · 11221 likes
So glad he got to meet the greatest film director of all time, David Lynch.
Karsten (4.5★) · 8265 likes
goes above and beyond what you normally expect from a movie about movies. cheesy and over-sentimental at times but i wouldn’t want it any other way. if this is spielberg’s last i cannot think of a better shot to end on. one of the best of the year, easily. and this is all referring to the david lynch scene specifically, rest of the movie is good too