Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs (2015)

*** (out of 4)

Excellent performances highlight this wonderfully written and masterfully directed bio of Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender), a genius who changed the world even though he was unable to see what damage he was doing to those closest to him.

Danny Boyle's direction is spot-on in regards to being able to bring Aaron Sorkin's words to life. As I said, on a technical level the film is a marvel and you're also going to witness one of the greatest performances of the year but at the same time there was just something that didn't sit right. I'm honestly not sure what it was but there was something here that prevented the movie from being what I'd consider great.

I really loved Sorkin's screenplay and especially the dialogue. There's a lot of "intelligent" stuff being talked about and I liked the fact that they really didn't dumb anything down or try to make the film appeal to more mainstream crowds. I really thought the film broke down into four thirty-minute short films with each of them based around a various launch. Each launch also deals with the same thing and that's to show that Jobs really wasn't a very likable guy. Whether it was not being a good father or not being good to the mother of his child, the film doesn't hold back any punches. In fact, STEVE JOBS main goal appears to show how flawed the man was.

The greatest thing about the film is without question the performance from Fassbender. This role was rumored to be with many different actors but Fassbender certainly makes it his own and there's not a single second where you're seeing an actor doing a performance. Even though he doesn't look like Jobs the actor certainly becomes the character and makes you believe everything you're seeing. Kate Winslet is also wonderful in her head-to-head battles with Jobs and I thought her and Fassbender were excellent playing off one another. Seth Rogan and Jeff Daniels are both good in their supporting roles as well.

The film has a terrific, fast-paced style that director Boyle perfectly nails and I thought his directing skills were perfect for the screenplay. As I said, there's a lot of great stuff in this movie but it still fell a bit short of actually being a great movie.

Steve Jobs fails to explode off the screen like The Social Network or Charlie Wilson's War did. There's all the things to love about Aaron Sorkin's writing and the acting is terrific, but Sorkin's screenplay lacks the enjoyable bite of his previous efforts and the whole thing comes off rather lacklustre.

On the film's highlights - Fassbender leaps off the screen in the first two minutes and never lets go. He looks nothing like Jobs himself did but he perfectly captures the frustrating ego that everyone loathed and matches it with high spirit and a bit of humour. His condescension is so real that we snarl at it. Winslett also makes her mark very early on, nailing an accent and vanishing into the part of Johanna. Her chemistry with Fassbender is palpable. Seth Rogen crushes the role of Steve Wozniak, a casting choice I've been thrilled about since 2014, nailing the low self-esteem and nervous ticks of the nerdy genius. Watching Rogen perform we can see his anger but also the slight plea for their friendship to endure. We all know that one friend who feels like they're doing us a favour by being friends with us, and watching Fassbender and Rogen banter back and forth we can see it in real time. Jeff Daniels rounds out the four-person highlight as Apple's CEO, and truly stands out as a great supporting player.

Probably the most talked about feature of Steve Jobs is the three-act narrative filmed in different styles. Its been reported on a million times and all I'll say is I loved it. The transition between the three events are also clever, montages of real media reports and pictures. There's even a very cleverly used Simpsons gag that helps inform the audience. I also loved the playful score and the cinematography that emulates the walk and talk of the West Wing.

The screenplay is Steve Jobs' greatest aider and abetter. The film's best scenes are written masterpieces - two fights between Jobs and Wozniak in particular take your breath away, a harsh comment where Jobs cuts down his 5 year old girl's beliefs are harsh, the recurring references to Jobs' adoption are clever and the two Andys joke is a nice funny recurring gag. However, Sorkin's screenplay at times feels like a textbook, and with so many words floating around its easy to lose track of what's happening. Some of the lines of dialogue are so pretentious its easy to get taken out of the film. It's also annoying to see Sorkin recycle his classic Sorkinisms "Don't talk to me like I'm other people" and "well one day you'll have to tell us how you did it". When you've seen them a couple of times, they lost impact right where they're needed most. Sadly, Sorkin starts to get too smart for his own good.

I didn't care much for the story arc Jobs went on. He is vehemently opposed to being Lisa's father and hurts the little girl by saying the computer was not named after her. Then all of a sudden he's a caring father and the girl's mother (played wonderfully by Katharine Waterston) is portrayed as the film's villain. In the final act, Jobs has a very clunky reconciliation on the rooftop and says things that simply don't fit right with the story.

There's a lot of talent involved in this movie that I really wanted to love. Fassbender and his co-stars all do exceptional work and Sorkin delivers a number of wonderful scenes, but at the end of the day I can't help but walk away feeling like Jeff Daniels' character, mourning for the things that could've been achieved.

I saw the original Steve Jobs movie with Ashton Kutcher, which in my opinion, served as a better outline for his career with Apple. This movie, however, was much better in a way where it provided a more realistic outlook with his innovative thinking and ties with Apple as it crashed and burned and then later reunited.

I was somewhat relieved that they touched on the subject with the daughter he had a hard time accepting until later, however, I was puzzled as to why they wouldn't include his current wife and other children in the movie as well. I thought that was kind of a slap on the face and a little disrespectful given that they were also a huge part of his life.

... in that you can argue about almost every stroke in the painting, yet when you stand back a few feet from the work, you realize that this is a more accurate portrayal of Steve Jobs than any photograph could be.

For example, Michael Fassbender looks nothing like Steve Jobs did at any point in his adult life, sounds nothing like Steve Jobs did. Yet, by the end of the film you feel that you are looking right at the man. Why? Because every incident portrayed sounds EXACTLY like something Steve Jobs would have done or said even if the entire incident never happened.

Kate Winsett gave an Oscar worthy performance as Joanna Hoffman, Jobs' marketing expertise and confidante, if he had any confidante at all. She acts as his conscience, his anchor, yet she actually wasn't there for a third of the film. Hoffmann retired before Jobs went back to Apple. As for Seth Rogan as Steve Wosniak, what can I say. He blew me away as he stood toe to toe with Fassbender in a show down that took my breath away with its intensity, and he stole the entire scene from Fassbender, proving he is much more than just the comic relief of Judd Apatow films.

Jeff Daniels as the conventional CEO John Sculley, recruited by Jobs to deal with a most unconventional visionary in a pioneering industry, absolutely nails the part. The scene towards the middle of the film where Sculley and Jobs have it out is a work of art in itself of dialogue, editing, and acting, and the time shifting between the present and various pasts of their relationship is expertly done.

As for the plot? It takes place entirely at three product launches - the Mac in 1984, the NeXT computer in 1988, and the iMac in 1998, and the central theme is Jobs' relationship with his daughter Lisa, the paternity of whom he did not come to terms with for years. Of course, if Jobs had even one product launch like the ones in the film with everybody he's ever known approaching and reproaching him, Jobs would have had security like the secret service at every launch afterwards.

So don't approach this like a documentary, instead approach it like the art it was meant to be and I think you'll enjoy it greatly. And regardless of what others say, I think it gives the most humane portrayal of Jobs I've seen on film. Strongly recommended.

This biopic of Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender) centers on three product launches; Apple Macintosh in 1984, NeXT Computer in 1988, and iMac in 1998. Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet) is his ever-present right-hand man. John Sculley (Jeff Daniels) is his father figure and CEO of Apple. Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogen) is always vying for acknowledgment of the Apple II. Chrisann Brennan (Katherine Waterston) is the mother of Jobs' daughter Lisa. Reporter Joel Pforzheimer follows him throughout.

These are all very interesting performances. Fassbender, Winslet, and Daniels all deliver. Seth Rogen is surprisingly good in a non-comedic role. Waterston is terrific as the baby mama. There is no denying that Aaron Sorkin knows how to write unique dialog but it feels non-real. I believe that this would be one of the best movies of the year if it's about Stephen Jet. Sorkin has written some of the greatest work around like West Wing, Newsroom, and others. They all have a superior to reality feel. This is altered realism but I think everybody is more interested in the actual truth. There are some great scenes. There are big scenes. This is a perfect creation.