The man who brought 1,000 songs into your pocket is now represented on the big screen. ‘Steve Jobs’ is based on the real life (you guessed it) Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, the company that has created items such as the iPod, iPhone and iPad. Though these three products are arguably Apple’s most recognizable, none are depicted in the film. Rather, the film focuses on the backstage drama that occurs before three product launches: the original Macintosh in 1984, the NeXT computer in 1988 and the original iMac in 1998.
Steve Jobs, played here by the incredible Michael Fassbender, who is best known for his arrogance and this film doesn’t allow that to be a footnote. The entire film follows Jobs, insulting anyone in his path, including his ex-lover Chrisann Brennan who cares for a young girl, Lisa, who’s said to be Jobs’ daughter. Jobs denies the claims multiple times throughout the film, particularly during the Macintosh launch when Brennan is telling Jobs that she recently signed up for welfare while at the time, Jobs owned $441 million in Apple stocks. This interaction plays throughout the entire film with Jobs constantly denying that he’s Lisa’s father (even though DNA tests prove that he’s wrong).
Throughout the rest of the film viewers are shown Jobs’ interactions with his assistant Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet), the CEO of Apple between 1983 through 1993 John Sculley (Jeff Daniels) and long time friends and co-founder of Apple Steve Wozniak (a serious Seth Rogen). All of the acting is incredible in the film as the audience is able to quickly capture their emotions.
Before the film was released there was controversy surrounding the casting of Fassbender, who many say doesn’t look anything like Jobs during the first and second parts of the movie. During the iMac launch, Fassbender is wearing Jobs’ iconic black turtleneck, Levi’s jeans and circular glasses. Many agreed that this was the only part of the film when the actor actually looked like Jobs. Personally, if an actor is portraying a real human being in a film, I try to not look at their appearance but rather their performance as the person. In this case, Fassbender nails every ounce of Jobs’ personality. From his hand gestures to his facial expressions, it seems as though Jobs returned from the dead to play himself.
The films itself is meant to be ‘smart’ in the sense that there isn’t any action or suspense but rather the entire film is made up of dialogue beautifully written by Aaron Sorkin, the screenwriter of ‘The Social Network’ (which he won the Oscar for in 2011) and the television series ‘The Newsroom’. Every actor nails line after line of quick jabs and heartless sayings that make the film what it is. Without the attitude that Sorkin is able to provide, the film would’ve been bland and tasteless. The director, Danny Boyle, really allowed for Sorkin’s script to soar and even the Oscar winner (Best Director for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ in 2009) couldn’t have saved the movie.
With this year’s award season on the horizon, many contenders are being released in theaters now. ‘Steve Jobs’ will most likely be in the mix of nominees when the time comes, primarily for Best Actor for Fassbender, Best Adapted Screenplay for Sorkin and Best Film Editing. This however, doesn’t limit the fact that the film could rack up multiple nominations for Best Picture, Best Director and others as well. Only time will tell as for how the movie will age in the coming months and if it will be remembered when voting begins.
With a perfect cast, screenplay and all-around story, ‘Steve Jobs’ is a movie film enthusiasts shouldn’t miss. Though it’s not for everyone due to its fast moving screenplay, the film will soon be mentioned again once awards season begins and hopefully for many years after that.