Draft:Mitzi Fabelman

Mitzi Fabelman is a fictional character and a supporting protagonist in Steven Spielberg's 2022 semi-autobiographical film The Fabelmans, which Spielberg co-wrote with Tony Kushner. A skilled pianist, the wife of computer engineer Burt Fabelman (Paul Dano) and the encouraging but tempestuous mother of the main character Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle) and his sisters, she is loosely based on Spielberg's mother Leah Adler and was portrayed in the film by Michelle Williams, who received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance.

Inspiration and casting
The character of Mitzi Fabelman is loosely based on Spielberg's mother Leah Adler, but written and fictionalized to have an "original voice." Her uncle, Boris Podgorny (Judd Hirsch), is based on Spielberg's granduncle of the same name. Spielberg himself had Michelle Williams in mind for the role after watching her performances in Blue Valentine (2010) and Fosse/Verdon (2019). She was cast in the role in 2020.

On the meaning behind the family name "Fabelman", Kushner (who came up with that name) said, "Spielberg means play-mountain; 'spieler' is an actor in Yiddish, and a 'spiel' can be speech or can be a play ... I wanted to have some of that meaning, and I've always liked the German word 'fabel,' which means fable. And because the movie is autobiographical for Steven but it isn't an autobiography, it's not a documentary, so there's a fictional element as well. So I thought that 'Fabelman' was a nod to that."

Characterization and portrayal
Eric Langberg of /Film described Mitzi as "an eccentric woman, a piano player who — we're told — could have been world-famous," but devoted to taking care of the family despite her occasional recklessness and ultimate desire to be with Bennie Loewy (Seth Rogen). Langberg further noted how Williams' portrayal of the character makes her more human and less of a caricature of mothers on screen, citing a couple of key scenes where she offers life lessons to Sammy, including "You do what your heart says you have to, 'cause you don't owe anyone your life. Not even me." Zachary Moser of Screen Rant viewed her as one of the film's "most exciting characters" due to her "unpredictable dynamic with Sammy’s father." Moser also noted how the character's "questionable decisions" affect the family dynamic and drive the direction of where they end up in the end. To make the character look similar in appearance to Leah Adler, Mitzi's hairstyle was given a look complete with the signature "Peter Pan haircut" that she was known for. For the character's costumes, the jewelry she wears in the film are in fact Leah Adler's own, including a charm bracelet that had pictures of all four of her children (Steven, Anne, Sue and Nancy).

To prepare for the role, Williams was given access to Spielberg's family archives, including home movies, photographs and recollections. On this process, she remarked "You're trying to get as close as possible, but I don't think anybody's ever looking for a photocopy of the thing. Otherwise, why make it? It's already been made. To recreate something exactly might not be as interesting as it is to gather the essence and see how that moves you and how that works through these given circumstances — this dialogue, this interaction with other characters and other actors. So it's as close as it can be, but it also isn't a documentary. Really, I just think about the music that she listened to and that she played — the music that moved her, this ecstatic reach for connection. She so completely inhabited the space around her, in front of her, above her, behind her, which feels like the movement of a piece of music. She felt like she was always in motion and she was careening through these ecstatic states from high to low. And I think that's what the great things make us feel."

Similarities and differences from Leah Adler
While the film hues closely to the events of Steven Spielberg's life, some elements were created exclusively to add to the fictionalization of the story. Mitzi's birthplace is never given, while Leah was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she studied at the town's Music Conservatory and graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in home economics. She married Arnold Spielberg (the inspiration behind Burt Fabelman) in February 1945. Leah Adler's affair with Bernie (the inspiration behind Bennie Loewy, played by Seth Rogen), was uncovered by Spielberg at age 16, like Sammy does with Mitzi and Bennie's affair in the film, and did keep it a secret from his family before Leah and Arnold divorced. Additionally, Leah and Arnold divorced in 1966 in real life, while in the film, it is in 1964 before Sammy graduates high school that Mitzi and Burt divorce. She would move back to Arizona and marry Bernie in 1967, before the two would then re-locate to Los Angeles to open The Milky Way restaurant, established as a shrine for Steven. Bernie died in 1995 at age 75 while Leah died in 2017 at age 97.

Reception
The character of Mitzi Fabelman was well-received, with Michelle Williams' performance earning widespread critical acclaim. Kyle Buchanan of The New York Times wrote that Williams "...really goes for it, attacking this part like someone who knows she's been handed her signature role." Stephanie Zacharek of Time praised Williams as part of Time's Top 10 movie performances of 2022, describing Mitzi's character as "a portrait of a woman so full of life she doesn't know where to put it all…Williams captures Mitzi's all-encompassing incandescence and her isolation." Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood also praised Williams' performance, calling it "gut-wrenchingly great." The A.V. Club included Mitzi on its list of the "15 Best movie moms of all time," with Cindy White writing "She's not a perfect person, but the movie asks us to understand and forgive her (as, we assume, Spielberg forgave his mother) for wanting a fuller, more creative life than her scientifically minded husband could give her. Thanks to [Michelle] Williams' delicate performance, it's not hard to do."

For her performance, Williams received numerous award nominations, including the Academy Award for Best Actress, the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, but lost the former to Michelle Yeoh for Everything Everywhere All at Once and the latter two to Cate Blanchett for Tár.