“...making a little world you can be safe and happy in.”

Trying to refrain from outright hyperbole, but I fucking loved every second of this movie and would hold up it against anything Spielberg has made. In a way, it feels a lot like a career-capping milestone for him the way that 'The Irishman' did for Scorsese. Incredibly delicate and tender, without ever devolving into outright sentimentality. And thankfully, not the ode to cinema, "magic of the movies" bullshit that I was fearing. No other film I've seen this year was written and edited with such purpose and clarity. Every scene builds so effortlessly off the one that came before it in a way that makes the character beats feel so consistently coherent and true. An honest, thoughtful treatise on the joys and necessity (but also the cost) of pursuing (or in some cases, not pursuing) creative passion and fulfillment.