Like the air we breathe, the influence of Steven Spielberg on contemporary film is so pervasive that it’s difficult to step back and analyze. It’s a commonplace to assert that Spielberg-inflected cinema has become the norm since he broke through with the paradigm-shifting success of “Jaws” in 1975 and while that’s broadly true, it does a disservice to the true range of Spielberg’s undeniable talent. Director Susan Lacy’s new documentary “Spielberg” takes a deep dive into the life and career of America’s most popular director, assisted by the forthright recollections of the man himself and a cast of collaborators whose very breadth and talent is itself a testament to Spielberg’s career. Not only does Lacy provide a stirring overview of the best moments from Spielberg’s films, she also provides an emotionally resonant look at his personal life and what makes him tick.
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It’s easy to forget after decades of work, but at the onset of his career, Spielberg’s reputation arose from the fact that at age twenty-one, he had become the youngest ever contract director of a major studio, at Universal (after sneaking onto the lot as a teen). This factoid illustrates two things crucial to understanding Spielberg and speaks volumes. While his New Hollywood colleagues were focused on displacing the old guard, for the most part Spielberg fit comfortably within the system. He was never focused on upending old-school studio filmmaking; rather he was such a savant of studio style that he wanted filter the entirety of the messy world through its machinery. Second, the concept of youth is central to understanding Spielberg. Early on, the film refers to Pauline Kael’s review for “The Sugarland Express,” a huge coup for his reputation that mostly raved about the talented young stylist but speculated that there might not be much insight beneath the surface. It’s not until far later in the film that Lacy delivers the kicker – Spielberg himself admitting that Kael was spot on, at the time.
Spielberg’s wunderkid technical ability thrust him into the director’s chair somewhat before he reached emotional maturity. Lacy features fun anecdotes from Spielberg’s “Movie Brat” peers – Scorcese, DePalma, Coppola, and Lucas – that portray Steven as the lovable nerd of the group, tempted by no vice but cinema. Part of the reason Spielberg’s early successes like “Close Encounters” and “E.T.” resonated so strongly with young audiences is that they’re processing familial strife from a perspective more adolescent than adult. Lacy proceeds through Spielberg’s ’70s and ’80s output by theme, picking apart the recurring threads of absent fathers, suburban families in dissolution, underdogs standing up to bullies, and the difficulty of fitting in. She finds these themes to be direct echoes from Spielberg’s own childhood, when he struggled to assimilate as an Orthodox Jew in Phoenix. He took his parents’ divorce very harshly, only reconciling with his father (who wasn’t at fault), years later. Spielberg’s early films, despite a talent for finding human moments, are fundamentally removed from reality. Harrison Ford astutely notes that the Indiana Jones movies are about movies more than anything else, both amplifying and subverting thriller film tropes to play with audience expectations on a scene-by-scene basis.
But to Spielberg’s immense credit, unlike many people who achieve great success at a young age, he continued to push himself into more difficult thematic territory. The process was fitful at first; Lacy’s interviewees refer to “The Color Purple” as a “Disney-fied” misfire. However, with “Schindler’s List,” Spielberg performed an incredible balancing act, presenting the horrors of the holocaust within the framework of a Hollywood movie, a task that took a different kind of craft from the filmmaker and a far more mature understanding of the world than he had previously displayed. The film represented a personal reckoning for Spielberg, who had sometimes hid from his Jewish heritage while growing up in hopes of better fitting in. “Schindler’s List” brought Spielberg a Best Director Oscar and a deeper respect from his peers. It didn’t hurt that in the same year, he released “Jurassic Park,” announcing his continued mastery of the popcorn flick and ushering in a new era of digital technology.
In the two decades since that nineties apex, Spielberg has continued to incorporate difficult themes into populist entertainment, from his visceral, unforgettable portrayal of the horror of D-Day in “Saving Private Ryan” to his channeling of post-9/11 anxieties of terrorism and invasion into the thrillers “Munich” and “War of the Worlds.” Spielberg’s later films have not shied from dark truths, yet have always displayed a pure, distinctly American optimism and faith in progress. This trait shines in “Lincoln,” in which he deploys his narrative gifts to successfully dramatize the incredibly messy and un-cinematic inner workings of the House of Representatives, showing just how difficult democracy can be yet affirming its process and principles.
Along with the overarching narrative of Spielberg’s career, the viewer is treated to breakdowns of some of Spielberg’s best scenes. Tom Hanks, among others, raves at his “eye”, or cinematic intuition, as well as his ability to quickly and instinctively conceive complex shots and camera movements. Spielberg himself relates that for his process, he fears being overconfident and finds his best ideas flow from a state of panic. Detailed looks at moments from “Indiana Jones,” “Munich” and others show that, along with Hitchcock, Spielberg is the master at establishing the stakes and setting of a suspense scene and then milking it for all it’s worth. As Spielberg touts the impressive roster of repeat collaborators he’s assembled such as composer John Williams and cinematographer Janusz Kamiński. Lacy gives the impression of a director as the conductor of an orchestra, in complete control of every element of the blockbuster film experience and able to call on any technique at will.
If there’s one drawback to the film, it’s that it never really reckons with how much Spielberg’s success, as a high volume producer and executive in addition to directing, has changed the industry, but that’s perhaps too much to ask from a film already over two hours with no wasted moments. Overall, “Spielberg” is a satisfying and edifying look at a giant of cinema. Viewers will leave the film with a deeper appreciation not only of his exceptional craft, but also of the man himself, an unassuming, charming storyteller who after all these years, enjoys nothing more than making, watching, and talking about movies. “Spielberg” is showing at the New York Film Festival and will air on HBO on October 7. [B+]
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