Michelle Williams’ performance in Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans has received mixed reviews, but a clip from the 1994 Oscars shows that she nailed her role as Mitzi Fabelman. The Fabelmans is a semi-autobiographical film based on the young life of Spielberg, with all the Fabelmans being based on him and his family. The character of Mitzi was based on his own mother, the late Leah Adler, who is shown on camera during Spielberg’s 1994 Academy Award speech for Best Directing. Despite criticism of Williams’ performance, her portrayal of Mitzi Fabelman is actually much closer to that of real-life Leah Adler than some might have believed.
The Fabelmans centers around young Sammy Fabelman throughout his adolescence, with viewers able to watch him grow into both a young man and a talented filmmaker. Both literally and figuratively, the film is shown through Spielberg’s eyes. While Sammy and most of the other characters in The Fabelmans feel grounded and real, Mitzi has an air of otherworldliness around her, as if she were simply a fictional character rather than a person. However, Mitzi is just an extension of Adler, of how Spielberg saw his mother, and the Oscars secretly prove just how accurate Williams’ portrayal of Spielberg’s childhood in The Fabelmans was.
1 Oscars Clip Proves Michelle Williams' Portrayal Of Spielberg's Mother Was Perfect
Mitzi’s eccentricity and strong emotions can come across as over-the-top or as if Williams is just overacting in The Fabelmans, but it is also an indication of how Spielberg saw his own mother. Spielberg said Adler was nicknamed “Peter Pan” and that “she lived a lot of childhoods in her 97 years” before passing away in 2017 ( via CBS Sunday Morning). Viewers can see Adler in this way in just a few seconds as the camera pans to her to capture her reaction at the Oscars when Spielberg refers to her as his “lucky charm” during his acceptance speech for his adaptation of the novel Schindler's List.
Adler’s emotions are written all over her face and through her exaggerated movements as she throws her head back in bashfulness, blows her son a huge kiss with both arms outstretched, and covers her face with her hand as she starts to tear up in gratitude and pride. Viewers can also see the immediate resemblance Williams’ Mitzi bears to Adler, both in appearance and in movement. The actress said Spielberg “let me get to know [Adler] through him” and that “she was just one of those people whose spirit fills a room” (via EW)This much is clear in both this clip and Williams’ performance in The Fabelmans.
How Michelle Williams Was Cast As Spielberg’s Mother
The Fabelmans mark the first collaboration between Spielberg and Williams, though the director has said he’s wanted to work with her since he saw her 2010 Oscar-nominated performance in Blue Valentine. He has directed over 30 films, though Spielberg’s first film is impossible to watch, and he first conceived the idea for The Fabelmans over 20 years ago. In brainstorming the character of Mitzi, Spielberg told CBS that Williams was always on his mind. However, it was her 2019 award-winning performance in Fosse/Verdon that made him choose Williams to play his mother in The Fabelmans.
Spielberg said Williams “has a secret energy that poured from her when she played Gwen Verdon” (via The New York Times). Like Adler and Mitzi, Verdon had that larger-in-life quality that made her seem almost unreal. Adler herself was also a performer and a talented concert pianist, which is depicted in The Fabelmans. Williams’ performance in The Fabelmans may seem off or unrealistic to some, but she was able to accurately capture Adler through Mitzi.