Steve Jobs
Don't Go! The man falls short of the excitement around his products.
Computer guy has jazzy conversations.
It is well known that religious people spend most of their time waiting by the letterbox for news of the/a Messiah's return/arrival, so that humankind can finally relax. If you listened to much of the hype, that wait is now futile - our saviour has already been and gone; having taken the shape of a man named Steve Jobs. The fairly literally titled Steve Jobs, directed by Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours) and starring Michael Fassbender (Slow West, X-Men: Days of Future Past) is already the second film about Jobs' life since his premature death in 2011 (following Ashton Kutcher's glitchy Jobs (2013)). This latest Jobfest looks at whether Steve Jobs was indeed the Messiah, or perhaps just a very naughty boy.
Jobs' story is revealed through dramatised backstage conversations (i.e. well-guided fictional dialogue) between Jobs and his acquaintances at three of his most definitive product launches - the failed Macintosh computer in 1984 which led to his entrepreneurial crucifixion at Apple; his professional resurrection with the NeXT computer in 1988; and finally the beginning of his ascension into mythology with the iMac in 1998, after his dramatic return to Apple. The technology takes a back seat, and instead we are plugged into Jobs' strained personal relationship with his daughter and her mother; and often fractious professional relationships with Apple co-founder, Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogen, This is the End, Apple CEO John Sculley (Jeff Daniels (The Martian), engineer Andy Herzfeld (Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man) and marketing exec and lifetime confidante Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road).
Jobs is credited (often single-handedly) with shifting peoples' interaction with technology (and each other), in the 21st Century. That accolade, alongside the behemoth of a company that he created and his $10 billion personal fortune, makes him perhaps capitalism's greatest modern master. But does the life of Steve Jobs justify Steve Jobs?
We all know about the products that Jobs presided over - they are more ubiquitous than the plump, white, unmarked envelopes that litter the floors of FIFA. His life, on the other hand, is not widely known. The film seeks to rectify this by revealing his motivations, preoccupations and complications, of which there are - as you would expect - many. However, while he was clearly an intelligent man, his other attributes seem to be broadly unpleasant: in consistent denial about his proven fatherhood to his young daughter; manipulative and vindictive towards the colleagues who actually crafted his products; stubborn in the face of legitimate challenge and hugely egotistical in the face of, well, everything else. Seeing him revealed is mildly interesting, but ultimately the whole film is only about the multi-billionaire head of an overpriced computer company who had an unfashionable penchant for polo necks. As much as people understandably wish to make more of him as a result of his successes and incongruous deification, his overall, personal odyssey borders on the ordinary and leaves the film with limited appeal beyond his adulatory disciples.
We all know about the products that Jobs presided over - they are more ubiquitous than the plump, white, unmarked envelopes that litter the floors of FIFA. His life, on the other hand, is not widely known. The film seeks to rectify this by revealing his motivations, preoccupations and complications, of which there are - as you would expect - many. However, while he was clearly an intelligent man, his other attributes seem to be broadly unpleasant: in consistent denial about his proven fatherhood to his young daughter; manipulative and vindictive towards the colleagues who actually crafted his products; stubborn in the face of legitimate challenge and hugely egotistical in the face of, well, everything else. Seeing him revealed is mildly interesting, but ultimately the whole film is only about the multi-billionaire head of an overpriced computer company who had an unfashionable penchant for polo necks. As much as people understandably wish to make more of him as a result of his successes and incongruous deification, his overall, personal odyssey borders on the ordinary and leaves the film with limited appeal beyond his adulatory disciples.
Nonetheless, Sorkin's script (although exhausting and occasionally convoluted) and the performances of the cast justifiably deserve credit. All of the actors play their roles with sincerity and conviction. For Fassbender and Winslet in particular, it would be entirely unsurprising if both are up for Oscars when nomming season comes around. Danny Boyle's direction is also difficult to fault. It is shot with pace and style, and plenty of craft is allowed to show thorough. Sadly, only so much can be achieved with a story that is inherently lacking in consequence. Throw that much creative talent at any film and the majority of the time, you will get something at least half-decent. With this cast and crew, even Tim Henman's tragically under-reported life story (suggested title - Come On Tim: the Man Behind the Balls) might well have some cinematic potential. In this case, however, it just isn't quite enough to drag Jobs' story into a compelling realm.
So don't go. Despite the potential intrigue surrounding his lesser known life, there is not quite enough behind those rimless glasses for a film based solely on his personality. The Social Network - a dramatised tale of Facebook's construction as another modern edifice of cash and computing - has far more to it; focussing on the outcomes as much as than man. Watch that instead. By downloading it from iTunes. Onto your iPhone. Or iPad. Or iMac. Or Macbook. Or by streaming it to your Apple TV.
So don't go. Despite the potential intrigue surrounding his lesser known life, there is not quite enough behind those rimless glasses for a film based solely on his personality. The Social Network - a dramatised tale of Facebook's construction as another modern edifice of cash and computing - has far more to it; focussing on the outcomes as much as than man. Watch that instead. By downloading it from iTunes. Onto your iPhone. Or iPad. Or iMac. Or Macbook. Or by streaming it to your Apple TV.