The Fabelmans is a coming of age story of a young boy who aspires to be a filmmaker until his family secrets threatens to destroy everything. The thing that I do usually associate with coming of age dramas is a tingling feeling of warmth. While that is present, the drama here has a dark twist to it that you would usually not associate with dramas of this genre. And thiscis what sets this film apart from the rest, in a good manner. The screenplay standing at 150 minutes may seem daunting but it does pass off like a breeze.

The drama does open with a beautiful little scene where a young protagonist is briefed about cinema by his parents before venturing into his first movie in a theatre. This made me reminisce about my journey featuring a three year old me being told by my grandma to not worry when the lights go off in a theatre and a giant movie screen awaits you. The talks were almost similar that made for a warm little start. Soon, the curiosity of the child kicks in with him wanting to replicate the scene that he witnessed onscreen, in his living room! This constitutes to a bright little start to this wonderful coming of age drama.

The drama is engaging and engrossing yet also breezy. It does give you a glimpse into how low budget films are shot that did act as a nice little learning on my part as well(although it was briefly explained). The interesting bit in the drama is also the character dynamics between various characters. The conflict is always lurking around the corner oblivious to the audience and introduced in a rather unassuming manner. The conflict here is rather dark and disturbing for an impressionable mind that definitely does take a toll of the protagonist.

The events unfolding as a subplot are interesting exploiting into how a change of environment can have an effect on young minds and the effort that does go into settling in a new place. But the element of cinema passing on through the drama almost like an undercurrent, following the protagonist everywhere he goes. This did act like a great metaphor for the love of cinema and filmmaking that the protagonist did have even in his subconscious mind. The vulnerabilities and the psyche of the protagonist are well explored through all the situations which are created around him that does make him question about his future(a state that I am in today although under totally different circumstances). In two separate scenes, both moving in their own manner, the parents lend him good advice to see him back on track. The final act is filled with hope and joy thus summing up a screenplay which is well written and dares to follow a trajectory which may not be in the semantics of films from this genre.