Screens: The Fabelmans

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Saturday 12/10

music

Anthony Semiao. Live music, wine, and food from the Eastwood food truck. Free, 1pm. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. eastwoodfarmandwinery.com Berto’s Latin Guitar Brunch. Enjoy the sounds of Brazil, Spain, and Latin America. Free, 11am. Tavern & Grocery, 333 W. Main St. tavernandgrocery.com

Christmas Concert—Joy to the World.

Philip Clark conducts The Albemarle Symphony through various holiday classics. Free, 6pm. Crozet Baptist Church, 5804 St. George Ave., Crozet. albemarlesymphony.org

Dan Tyminski featuring Gaven Largent.

With Maddie Denton on fiddle, Jason Davis on banjo, Grace Davis on bass, and Gaven Largent on dobro. $33-47, 8pm. The Jefferson Theater, 110 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. jeffersontheater.com Local Vocals. The eclectic acoustic trio is fronted by lead singer Cindy Perfater. Free, 6pm. Glass House Winery, 5898 Free Union Rd., Free Union. glasshousewinery.com Willie DE Trio. Performing in The Chapel, with food from Twisted Biscuits. Free, 5:30pm. Potter’s Craft Cider, 1350 Arrowhead Valley Rd. potterscraftcider.com

dance

Albemarle Ballet Theatre: The Nutcracker.

A revitalized version of the holiday classic, with new sets and over 60 local dancers. $16-22, 2 and 6pm. Waynesboro High School, 1200 W. Main St., Waynesboro. abtdance.org

stage

Elf: The Musical. See listing for Friday, December 9. $10-20, 8pm. Four County Players, 5256 Governor Barbour St., Barboursville. fourcp.org Matilda: The Musical. See listing for Thursday, December 8. $15-25, 2 and 7pm. Belmont Arts Collaborative, 221 Carlton Rd., Ste. 3. dmradventures.com Violet. See listing for Wednesday, December 7. $30-33, 8pm. Live Arts, 123 E. Water St. livearts.org

words

Artists in Conversation: Ramona Marti-

nez and Sri Kodakalla. Exhibiting artist Martinez and fellow artist and friend, Kodakalla, discuss their work. Free, 11am. Second Street Gallery, 115 Second St. SE. secondstreetgallery.org Storytime. Featuring recent storybooks and classics kids know and love. Free, 11am. New Dominion Bookshop, 404 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. ndbookshop.com

outside

Charlottesville Holiday Market. Handcrafted items from a variety of artisans. Free, 8am. Charlottesville City Market, 100 Water St. E. charlottesville.gov Jolly Holly Trolley. Take a ride down the mall every weekend this holiday season. Free, noon. The Downtown Mall. friendsofcville.org Playdates at the Playscape. See listing for Friday, December 9. $20, 9:30am. Wildrock, 6600 Blackwells Hollow Rd., Crozet. wildrock.org Veritas Illuminated. See listing for Thursday, December 8. $10-15, 5:15pm. Veritas Vineyards and Winery, 151 Veritas Ln., Afton. veritaswines.com

Young Spielberg

The Fabelmans retraces the filmmaker’s cinematic roots

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Steven Spielberg points the camera at his own youth in The Fabelmans, a story (starring Paul Dano and Michelle Williams) that follows his journey into filmmaking.

By Justin Humphreys

arts@c-ville.com

Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical The Fabelmans is a re-creation of the director’s early life—partly embroidered—that focuses mainly on his fixation with filmmaking. Overall, it’s a well-told story and a reminder of his gifts for cinematic storytelling, yet it suffers from detrimental lapses into sappiness and unsubtlety.

The film opens on young Spielberg surrogate Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle) seeing his first movie. Entranced by the medium, his passion for moviemaking continually grows, as he first enlists his sisters to appear in home movies, then as a teenager, his Boy Scout troops become his subjects.

Meanwhile, a marital rift steadily develops between his parents—pragmatic Burt (Paul Dano), and flighty, artistic Mitzi (Michelle Williams)—in the form of his dad’s best friend, Bennie (Seth Rogen). When the family moves from Arizona to California for Burt’s job promotion, Bennie is left behind, and Sammy must confront the unstable world of adolescence, including antisemitic bullies. His filmmaking muse allows him to compartmentalize, and serves as an escape from his daily troubles.

Sammy embodies the young, hungry Spielberg: eager to prove himself with showy, striking movies. Now, as probably the most successful filmmaker alive, Spielberg has nothing to prove in terms of technique, and he directs The Fabelmans with mature confidence and very little flashiness.

Few living directors have an innate sense of visual storytelling as good as Spielberg. Love his films or hate them, he’s a born moviemaker. But his latest is by no means his best. The title’s blunt wordplay is an indication of just how ham-fisted the movie sometimes gets. Likewise, Mitzi is a Peter Pan kind of person, so she gets a Peter Pan haircut to match. Subtlety is not The Fabelmans’ strong suit.

Throughout his career, Spielberg has shown an extraordinary talent for getting audiences to relate to his characters. Here, he is as acutely observant as ever about family dynamics and the trials, tribulations, and victories of childhood. But his Achilles’ heel is his tendency toward the treacly. He can easily be accused of being the Norman Rockwell of American cinema: technically brilliant, but overwhelmingly sentimental.

There are outstanding individual sequences, including some of the Fabelmans’ family squabbles and a scene where Sammy makes a disturbing discovery while editing home movies. Certain individual lines and shots are some of the best Spielberg has done in years. (To avoid spoilers, they are not listed here.)

In his film debut, LaBelle is outstanding as the teenaged Sammy, and the entire juvenile cast is good. Dano and Williams are both fine as Sammy’s parents, and at their best in quieter moments. Rogen is better than usual as Bennie. In his showy scene as Mitzi’s uncle Boris, Judd Hirsch will divide viewers—whether he’s making the most of a juicy character part or indulging deeply in silly scenery-chewing is open to debate. And David Lynch makes a memorable cameo as the great director John Ford.

The Fabelmans

PG-13, 151 minutes Regal Stonefield & IMAX Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

The Fabelmans is an enjoyable, entertaining, light movie, (albeit 20 minutes too long), that is worth seeing. But viewing Spielberg’s career high points like Duel and Jaws would be preferable. The bittersweet irony is that The Fabelmans celebrates moviemaking and the shared experience of moviegoing, as theatrical attendance dips starkly low. It’s also a love letter to a kind of “handmade,” organic filmmaking that computers now largely overshadow. Try as it might to be inspirational, it’s also a sad reminder of what the medium has lost.

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Saturday 12/10

etc.

Christmas in Connecticut. Barbara Stanwyck does the holiday hustle in this classic comedy. $5, noon. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, 5th Street Station. drafthouse.com

Daily Tour of Indigenous Australian Art.

See listing for Wednesday, December 7. Free, 10:30am and 1:30pm. Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA, 400 Worrell Dr. kluge-ruhe.org Met Live in HD: The Hours. Renée Fleming makes her highly anticipated return to the Met in this live broadcast. $18-25, 12:45pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net Santa Claus is Coming. Meet Santa and take photos. Free, 10am. Dairy Market, 946 Grady Ave. dairymarketcville.com Selfies with Santa. Share your wish list with Santa and snap a photo for your holiday card. Free, noon. Central Place, Downtown Mall. friendsofcville.org

Sunday 12/11

music

Beleza Duo. Samba soul music. Free, 2pm. Glass House Winery, 5898 Free Union Rd., Free Union. glasshousewinery.com

Blue Ridge Irish Music School Holiday

Showcase. A showcase of Irish music, dance, and song. Free, 2pm. The Haven, 112 W. Market St. blueridgeirishmusic.org Gia Ray. The singer-songwriter’s sound is a blend of Emmylou Harris and Mazzy Star. Free, 1pm. Potter’s Craft Cider, 1350 Arrowhead Valley Rd. potterscraftcider.com Irish Music. Patrick and Aaron Olwell and friends play their renditions of traditional tunes. Free, 2:30pm. Albemarle CiderWorks, 2545 Rural Ridge Ln., North Garden. albemarleciderworks.com Second Sunday Bluegrass Jam. All levels, ages, and instruments welcome. Free, 1pm. The Batesville Market, 6624 Plank Rd., Batesville. batesvillemarket.com The Jazz Connection. Playing standards and originals with occasional guest performers. Free, 6pm. Kardinal Hall, 722 Preston Ave. kardinalhall.com WinterSong. An evening of holiday revelry, with live music, warm fires, and tasty seasonal beverages. Free, 4pm. Rivanna River Company, 1538 E. High St. frontporchcville.org

stage

Elf: The Musical. See listing for Friday, December 9. $10-20, 2:30pm. Four County Players, 5256 Governor Barbour St., Barboursville. fourcp.org Violet. See listing for Wednesday, December 7. $30-33, 2pm. Live Arts, 123 E. Water St. livearts.org

Elf: The Musical

SUPPLIED PHOTO

outside

Jolly Holly Trolley. See listing Saturday, December 10. Free, noon. The Downtown Mall. friendsofcville.org Veritas Illuminated. See listing for Thursday, December 8. $10-15, 5:15pm. Veritas Vineyards and Winery, 151 Veritas Ln., Afton. veritaswines.com

etc.

Daily Tour of Indigenous Australian Art.

See listing for Wednesday, December 7. Free, 10:30am and 1:30pm. Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA, 400 Worrell Dr. kluge-ruhe.org Brew & Buddy Run and Elf. Run through Downtown Cville, stop for drinks along the way, and finish with a screening of Elf. $6-25, 4:15pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net What’s the Score. Compete against other listeners for prizes and glory in this friendly test of your knowledge of classical music, instruments, and history. Free, 9am. The Stage at WTJU, 2244 Ivy Rd. wtju.net

Monday 12/12

music

Baby Jo’s. Tunes from the seven-piece, New Orleans-inspired boogie and blues band. Free, 6:30pm. The Whiskey Jar, 227 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. thewhiskeyjarcville.com Berto & Vincent. Rumba rumba. Free, 7pm. South and Central Latin Grill, Dairy Market. southandcentralgrill.com Gin & Jazz. Brian Caputo Trio performs in the hotel lobby bar. Free, 5:30pm. Oakhurst Hall, 122 Oakhurst Cir. oakhurstinn.com

Tuesday 12/13

music

Thunder Music Karaoke. Show off your vocal chops, or just come enjoy the evening. Free, 9pm. Holly’s Diner, 1221 E. Market St. 234-4436 The Front Bottoms. With Slothrust and Sydney Sprague. $29-36, 7:30pm. The Jefferson Theater, 110 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. jeffersontheater.com

Tunesday Tuesdays with Josh Mayo

and The House Sauce. Featuring different acts every other Tuesday. Free, 9pm. Rapture, 303 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. rapturerestaurant.com Vincent Zorn. Olé. Free, 7pm. The Bebedero, 225 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. thebebedero.com

outside

Playdates at the Playscape. See listing for Friday, December 9. $20, 9:30am. Wildrock, 6600 Blackwells Hollow Rd., Crozet. wildrock.org

etc.

Daily Tour of Indigenous Australian Art.

See listing for Wednesday, December 7. Free, 10:30am and 1:30pm. Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA, 400 Worrell Dr. kluge-ruhe.org Family Game Night. Enjoy dinner, refreshing cocktails, mocktails, and beers, and play a variety of games for all ages, including corn hole, jumbo Jenga, cards, and more. Free, 5pm. Dairy Market, 946 Grady Ave. dairymarketcville.com Geeks Who Drink Trivia Night. Useless knowledge means everything at this authentic homegrown trivia quiz. Free, 8pm. Firefly, 1304 E. Market St. fireflycville.com