Directed by: Danny Boyle
Screenplay by: Aaron Sorkin based on the book by Walter Isaacson
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jeff Daniels
While it’s easy to praise something you love or critically break apart anything that underwhelms your own opinion, the truly great films become an art form to absolutely admire. Steve Jobs is an experience like no other. Audiences and critics loved The Revenant, among other things, for its extensive landscapes and enduring commitment but Steve Jobs has an intensity of intelligence alongside exceptional ingenuity, much like the man himself.
The film is split into three ‘launches’; the Macintosh in 1984, the NeXT box in 1988 and the iMac G3 in 1998. It’s entwined with a look at Jobs (played by Michael Fassbender) relationships with five main character arcs that includes his daughter Lisa (portrayed by Makenzie Moss, Ripley Sobo, Perla Haney-Jardine at different ages) and her Mother Chrisann Brennan (Katherine Waterston); Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogen); Apple CEO John Sculley (Jeff Daniels); confidant and marketing executive Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet); and leading, original MAC, engineer Andy Hertzfeld (Michael Stuhlbarg).
Danny Boyle has proven himself to be a deft hand at numerous types of genres and doesn’t fail us here. His individual insight and style brings forth Fassbender’s representation of Jobs as a man who was beyond dedicated, undoubtedly troubled inside but totally brilliant. Each character isn’t specifically setup to look like their real-life counterparts and due to the ridiculously sharp Aaron Sorkin script they’re easily understandable with their own individual characteristics and temperaments. This isn’t as simple as it sounds though, anyone can write a character and bring life to that vision but to make it pure and keep the connection, even when Jobs is dislikeable, Fassbender offers up a side that we may well recognise in ourselves, especially if you’re striving for something better and bigger.
Kate Winslet, as Jobs long-term friend and marketing exec, Joanna Hoffman is also compelling. Her character, while always focused and steadfast, follows its own arc as she sees Jobs’ relationship with his daughter falter. Hoffman is an important, integral part of his life and while bridges are burned, these two are a team but more so because Jobs probably wouldn’t focus without her. Co-starring shining roles for Rogen and Stuhlbarg, as Steve Jobs long-suffering work colleagues and theoretical friends, give us a further insight into how he views people and what they go through to try and keep Steve near the ground but, of course, they seem to lose more than gain. A special mention has to go to Jeff Daniels, as Apple CEO Sculley, who has proved again to be a perfect platform for Sorkin’s writing. His role in The Newsroom was excellent and here he continues the good work. There’s also another agreeable connection to HBO’s underrated show because Katherine Waterston, who plays Jobs ex-girlfriend, is the real-life daughter of The Newsroom’s Sam Waterston who played Charlie Skinner.
Picking out specific scenes is difficult because the whole movie ebbs and flows effortlessly but one that sticks in my mind, at this moment, is the build-up and reveal as they head to the launch of the ill-fated NeXT ‘perfect cube’ black box. The scene gathers a momentum that shouldn’t really be present within something we have knowledge of but, somehow, between Sorkin’s script, Boyle’s direction and Fassbender’s presence and talent, it’s an absolute juggernaut.
It’s one of those films you’ll recommend to your friends, you’ll have to watch it again, and I don’t see how you couldn’t be inspired at the same time. Steve Jobs. Think different. Be incredible.
Steve Jobs is out to own on Blu-ray and DVD on 21 March, 2016.
The special features feature an extended 3-part look behind ‘The Making Of…’ are feature all the cast and crew, hugely insightful after you’ve enjoyed the movie. Here’s a little teaser…
