Steven Spielberg's semi-autobiographical film, centered around the mid-20th century family, is a dreamy memory of one young boy's relationship with a camera. Sammy's connection with film is a comfort and a curse as his ideal, upper-middle class, suburban life seems to spiral out of his control, and he begins to learn that his parents - who he once thought as both genius and angelic - are just like everyone else: broken and lost.

I wasn't sure about Michelle Williams being a frontrunner for Best Actress until I saw this performance and how it anchors the story, but it's the newcomer, Gabrielle LaBalle, that's most impressive. It's definitely the best Spielberg in 20 years. However, it also feels like something that would be considered great 20 years ago, and it's far from being the best film of this year.