This family could have lived in Alamo

Just in time for the Golden Globes and Academy Awards season, Steven Spielberg finally brings his inspiration for “E.T.” and his many other blockbuster films to the screen. With “The Fabelmans,” we are introduced to Spielberg’s family during the early fifties, when holidays and other family moments were captured on 8mm movie cameras usually held by fathers, and the image of the nuclear family was often a façade. But this is the story about Spielberg, and we learn how, as a youngster, he was first introduced to the magic of moviemaking with the screening of “The Greatest Show on Earth.”

But this film is so much more than “…and then he started making movies, blah, blah, blah.” While “The Fabelmans” is told through the lens of young Sammy (Steven Spielberg), the film could easily stand alone in the telling of the bittersweet story of Sammy’s troubled mother, Mitzi (played by Michelle Williams), a creative soul who gives up her passion to raise a family while grappling with marriage to a man who doesn’t stimulate her creativity and free spirit.

A parallel could be drawn between the majority of imaginative stories and the writers who endured a dysfunctional childhood. And having a “colorful mother” seems to be a recurring theme in movies that speak to audiences looking for a story with heart, and the reality of creative souls who become successful storytellers.  

Look for this movie to be a dark horse in the race to the awards. “The Fabelmans” can now be rented on Amazon Prime.

 Heidi McCrary is a writer and author of the novel, Chasing North Star – available at Kazoo Books, This is a Bookstore, and online wherever books are sold. Follow Heidi at heidimccrary.net and facebook.com/HeidiMcCraryAuthor