Yes No Maybe So: "The Fabelmans" and "Glass Onion"
Thursday, September 15, 2022 at 5:35PM by Nathaniel R
It's hard to keep up in September with festival premieres, Oscar news, and fresh trailers arriving daily. The strangest thing about September though is how future-oriented everything is. It's not about what people have access to now (theaters start crawling out of their current wasteland Friday) but what they might be talking about in December and January. Which makes September feel like foreplay without pleasure. But October is just around the corner and things get significantly more in-the-moment the further into the last quarter we get. Still trailers have their own kind of anticipatory pleasure. So today let's talk The Fabelmans which is getting raves from the first responders at TIFF...
THE FABELMANS
Yes
• Spielberg has always been good at "feeling awe" shots, and this hits fast with that with the cupping hands and projected image, as well as the mom's mix of glee and awe at what her son has made with toy trains crashing.
• The buzz is that Michelle Williams will finally be Oscar's bride instead of a bridesmaid. Since we don't have the performance to judge (it's so crazy how often people feel that a trailer is the be all and end all of a performance in modern movie culture) let's just say that it looks like a very appealing character, specifically for film professionals; she's a true believer in art and her son's potential. Since that son will become Steven Spielberg (or thereabouts since this is autofiction) she'll be easy to root for.
• Again, there's not much to go on given that it's a trailer but Spielberg's proxy in the leading role appears to have a great face for this. Here's to hoping that Gabriel LaBelle delivers in his debut.
• The structure of the trailer is a beautiful set up, and flowering. Loved the transition moment "What kind of movie are you gonna make?" Screenwriters don't write trailers but it reminds us that Tony Kushner is on hand to make this sing (apart from the visuals which Spielberg always has a handle on)
• All the shots of filmmaking are exciting. We've been down on Spileberg for that problem many auteurs have of working with the same people so often that they don't always push their own talent or, rather, find unexpected new avenues for it.
• Was not expecting this much Judd Hirsch and this little Seth Rogen but am here for the trade!
No
• That first wig on Michelle: too small for her face! That's all we got for a "no" -- had to fill the space somehow!
Maybe So
• Movies about the magic of movies can be hit or miss, or at least so in love with their own subgenre that they think talking about magic is the same thing as being magical.
• "Movies are dreams that you never forget" and that Edward Scissorhands like scoring. This does have the potential to be so overtly earnest, sweet, meaningful, and emotionally gooey that it tips over into self-parody. But the early reviews have been ecstatic so perhaps that never happens.
• How rich is Paul Dano's role in this? From afar this feels like a standard closed off absent dad role but will it be richer in the he playing? Dano has earned a strong showcase, don'cha think?.
GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY
And as a digestif, here's the teaser for GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY which is mostly just shots of the very star-studded cast posing for the camera... but we'll take it! I wasn't as obsessed with Knives Out as most moviegoers were but Baby Clyde's response inspires some hope. Plus if everything has to be a franchise in this era better to be a franchise that is forced to be "original" each time out by way of new characters.
We're all YES on all three but that's the way Hollywood likes to play it, saving all the juicy stuff aimted at adults first and foremost until the last three months of the year. How about you?
Reader Comments (6)
If I could give anyone without an Oscar an Oscar, it would be Michelle Williams. Let's hope the buzz sticks!
I totally want to see both films. The Fabelmans might be the first Spielberg film I watch in the theaters since... that one film we shall not speak of.
As someone who does have Michelle Williams' performance to judge (I watched the film at TIFF a few days ago), I will say she has so much more than just being supportive of art to work with. It's a very layered portrayal and Williams does do wonders with it. Now the question will be if she goes Lead or Supporting. You can make a case for Lead, though the main character is definitely the Sammy Fabelman (which, by the way, Gabriel LaBelle is quite good.
I do with Paul Dano had grown a beard for the role, because he and LaBelle look more like brothers than they do father and son. Otherwise, while Williams has the more extensive role, Dano does quite well.
As for Glass Onion, I was a little underwhelmed by it, mostly because it becomes silly in a less fun way by the end. I'm more of a fan of Knives Out than you are mostly because I love how that film structured its narrative and tricked us by swerving in a few interesting directions. I feel Glass Onion doesn't quite accomplish that. Daniel Craig is as fun as ever though and there are several great jokes.
The Glass Onion:
YES: Well, yes. Love it already.
NO: Noah Segan doesn’t seem to be in this one, and I wish he had a role in all the Knives Out movies.
MAYBE SO: I wish it was released in theatres now, made a bunch of money, then Netflix released it streaming, because it’s the kind of movie that will be re-watched so the streaming wouldn’t suffer. The first Knives Out was our choice for a family group viewing.
The Fablemans:
YES: I like Michelle Williams and Paul Dano. But I would rather Williams got a lead Oscar for her collaborations with director Kelly Reichardt.
NO: I feel like I have seen a zillion “young man’s coming of age” movies. It’s like a sacred text in a religion that I don’t belong to.
I’m not really interested in seeing another, no matter who you are.
MAYBE SO: Since everyone will be talking about it, I’ll probably see it. But it’s like doing homework in one of your least favourite classes.
It seems like once a decade Kate Hudson appears in a movie with a very impressive cast and gets a SAG nomination- Almost Famous and Nine- Maybe Glass Onion gets another one for her.
That being said, that fact that this movie is going straight to Netflix instead of getting a full theatrical release- especially when there are slim pickings for new films in cinemas now- seems like a wasted oppurtunity.
Obviously this is Spielbergs first entre into direct autofiction but I think it’s exciting because we haven’t seen a truly personal film from him in a long time… maybe since Munich? It seems like lately he prioritizes film-making exercises (West Side Story, Ready Player One) or more political fare (Lincoln, The Post) so I’m intrigued to see him go back to ET territory. And the trailer looks like it will deliver.