Steve Jobs - directed by Danny Boyle
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Jeff Daniels, Seth Rogen, Michael Stuhlbarg, Katherine Waterston, John Ortiz, Perla Haney-Jardine, Sarah Snook, Adam Shapiro
Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin
Music Score by: Daniel Pemberton
Cinematography: Alwin H Kuchler
Edited by: Elliot Graham
Running Time: 122 minutes
Rated: M - Language
Oscar Nominations: Best Actor (Michael Fassbender), Best Supporting Actress (Kate Winslet)
I wonder if you need to be an admirer of Steve Jobs to enjoy this movie?
Maybe, with its frank portrayal of his well documented faults people who detest the man may also find enjoyment?
Personally I have been fascinated with him since the first time I saw his photograph in an early issue of the weekly 1983 magazine series by Orbis - "The Home Computer Course".
I wasn't sure why.
Maybe it was because he looked so different to the others profiled week after week.
People like Nolan Bushnell, Bill Gates, Grace Hopper, Alan Turing, Alan Sugar and yes - Steve Jobs.
He was younger certainly but it was the way that the blurb spoke not so much of his achievements but his potential.
A few years later I read a book called "West of Eden" which detailed Jobs' rise and fall at Apple and I was well and truly hooked.
There have been few public figures in the last 100 years as flawed, divisive, controversial, visionary and brilliant as Jobs.
To admire the guy one must recognise his flaws and if not forgive them at least make peace with them.
The 2013 film named "Jobs" starring Ashton Kutcher in the title role failed to understand this so I was hopeful that the 'official' movie based on Walter Isaacson's biography would be a better telling of the life of Steve Jobs.
And then I read that they were instead focusing on three key moments- namely product launches- and my heart sank.
And yet further again when actor after actor dropped out and even David Fincher one of the absolute finest directors working today left the project.
I still consider his "The Social Network" to be one of the finest films of the last ten years and watch it every six months if not more frequently.
Well, having finally seen the movie that was ultimately helmed by Danny Boyle with Michael Fassbender in the lead it is clear that I should not have been concerned one iota.
"Steve Jobs" is a sublime piece of filmmaking.
The angle it approaches its subject from turns out to be central to its success.
We see Jobs first in 1984 as he prepares to take the stage to present the Macintosh for the first time.
Next it is 1988 and now ex-Apple employee Jobs is showcasing his NeXT computer.
And finally we come to 1998 as he is about to reveal the iMac having been reinstated to the top job at Apple.
Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin uses these events to bring sharper focus to a well known aspect of Jobs' life that is revealed as perhaps the defining one.
His daughter Lisa.
In the first scenes Jobs is denying that the five year old is his daughter despite the protestations of his long suffering marketing executive Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet)
Flash forward to act two set in 1988 and again the now 9 year old features heavily as she does as a 19 year old when we meet her in the final act.
There are very few locations and much of the dialogue heavy action is delivered as characters move from a stage to a backroom and back.
If this sounds more like a play than a movie then you are right - and wrong.
Director Danny Boyle keeps us right in the middle of things with a camera that stays close to the actors.
It is a perfect meshing of theatre and cinema.
There is a heightened sense of immediacy and the typically quickfire dialogue from Sorkin combined with Daniel Pemberton's diverse score makes a movie about people talking almost tense.
Humour is utilised in just the right amount too.
The tone is pitch perfect and finds a nice middle ground as we delve into issues trivial - a speech generation routine that doesn't work and vital- the welfare of a child.
I have read half a dozen books specifically about Jobs and around four times that number again indirectly about him and few have revealed as much about the man as this film did.
By refusing to tackle the massive task of portraying the entire history of Apple under Jobs (which would required a ten part mini-series at least to do justice to) Sorkin is able to focus on providing sparkling, smart dialogue, humour and a surprisingly touching finale.
He is one of the finest writers in the business and his work here stands right alongside his very best.
There are far too many memorable lines and exchanges to recall from a single viewing and I will happily see this again.
And this is Danny Boyle's best work since "Trainspotting" for me.
While not as stylised as his classic 1996 film he still makes every single shot compelling.
I am shocked that he isn't up for a Best Director award at the Oscars this year and even more amazed that Sorkin is also absent from the nominations.
At least Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet were recognised with Winslet increasingly looking like taking her Supporting Actress category out.
She deserves to - she is incredible in this film.
Everyone knows that this is Leo's year but were it not I would be rooting for Fassbender who whilst perfectly mimicking Jobs voice forgoes a potentially ill-advised attempt to look like him with makeup or prosthetics.
Instead he does it with intensity and a little help from a suit or two and a polo neck sweater and sneakers.
I couldn't have liked this movie more.
It is an early frontrunner for best of the year.
There isn't a single aspect that isn't joyously great.
Daniel Pemberton's wonderful score uses Analogue, Orchestral and Digital motifs to suit each of the three acts and is utilised perfectly.
On occasion his score is entirely absent.
At others it is a gentle presence in the background waiting to rise up to punctuate a key moment.
It often reminded me of Hans Zimmer's beautiful "Interstellar" score.
The structure and editing of this film are often startlingly great with a highlight being a heated argument between Jobs and Mike Sculley (a never better Jeff Daniels) subtly cutting back in time to highlight past events at the centre of current ones.
Seth Rogen is perfect as Wozniak but it is Michael Stuhlbarg who takes the supporting cast honours as Andy Hertzfeld
I find this film hard to fault.
For all the trouble that the production went through the end result could scarcely be better.
Sure- there is a lot of out and out made up stuff here but accuracy isn't the goal here.
Rather it is a fitting study of a figure well worthy of such.
This in my mind is THE definitive work to date.
Brilliant, amazing, incredible.... insanely great etc.
RATING: 90/ 100
CONCLUSION: Genuinely brilliant in every regard "Steve Jobs" manages to be theatrical and cinematic all at once. By paring the cast of characters down to the bare minimum and focusing on just one aspect of the central figures life Sorkin and Boyle reveal far more than a dozen books and a host of lesser movie attempts do by miles. Amazing.
Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin
Music Score by: Daniel Pemberton
Cinematography: Alwin H Kuchler
Edited by: Elliot Graham
Running Time: 122 minutes
Rated: M - Language
Oscar Nominations: Best Actor (Michael Fassbender), Best Supporting Actress (Kate Winslet)
I wonder if you need to be an admirer of Steve Jobs to enjoy this movie?
Maybe, with its frank portrayal of his well documented faults people who detest the man may also find enjoyment?
Personally I have been fascinated with him since the first time I saw his photograph in an early issue of the weekly 1983 magazine series by Orbis - "The Home Computer Course".
I wasn't sure why.
Maybe it was because he looked so different to the others profiled week after week.
People like Nolan Bushnell, Bill Gates, Grace Hopper, Alan Turing, Alan Sugar and yes - Steve Jobs.
He was younger certainly but it was the way that the blurb spoke not so much of his achievements but his potential.
A few years later I read a book called "West of Eden" which detailed Jobs' rise and fall at Apple and I was well and truly hooked.
There have been few public figures in the last 100 years as flawed, divisive, controversial, visionary and brilliant as Jobs.
To admire the guy one must recognise his flaws and if not forgive them at least make peace with them.
The 2013 film named "Jobs" starring Ashton Kutcher in the title role failed to understand this so I was hopeful that the 'official' movie based on Walter Isaacson's biography would be a better telling of the life of Steve Jobs.
And then I read that they were instead focusing on three key moments- namely product launches- and my heart sank.
And yet further again when actor after actor dropped out and even David Fincher one of the absolute finest directors working today left the project.
I still consider his "The Social Network" to be one of the finest films of the last ten years and watch it every six months if not more frequently.
Well, having finally seen the movie that was ultimately helmed by Danny Boyle with Michael Fassbender in the lead it is clear that I should not have been concerned one iota.
"Steve Jobs" is a sublime piece of filmmaking.
The angle it approaches its subject from turns out to be central to its success.
We see Jobs first in 1984 as he prepares to take the stage to present the Macintosh for the first time.
Next it is 1988 and now ex-Apple employee Jobs is showcasing his NeXT computer.
And finally we come to 1998 as he is about to reveal the iMac having been reinstated to the top job at Apple.
 |
| Kate Winslet - Oscar beckons |
His daughter Lisa.
In the first scenes Jobs is denying that the five year old is his daughter despite the protestations of his long suffering marketing executive Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet)
Flash forward to act two set in 1988 and again the now 9 year old features heavily as she does as a 19 year old when we meet her in the final act.
There are very few locations and much of the dialogue heavy action is delivered as characters move from a stage to a backroom and back.
If this sounds more like a play than a movie then you are right - and wrong.
Director Danny Boyle keeps us right in the middle of things with a camera that stays close to the actors.
It is a perfect meshing of theatre and cinema.
There is a heightened sense of immediacy and the typically quickfire dialogue from Sorkin combined with Daniel Pemberton's diverse score makes a movie about people talking almost tense.
Humour is utilised in just the right amount too.
The tone is pitch perfect and finds a nice middle ground as we delve into issues trivial - a speech generation routine that doesn't work and vital- the welfare of a child.
I have read half a dozen books specifically about Jobs and around four times that number again indirectly about him and few have revealed as much about the man as this film did.
By refusing to tackle the massive task of portraying the entire history of Apple under Jobs (which would required a ten part mini-series at least to do justice to) Sorkin is able to focus on providing sparkling, smart dialogue, humour and a surprisingly touching finale.
 |
| Seth Rogen as Steve Wozniak |
There are far too many memorable lines and exchanges to recall from a single viewing and I will happily see this again.
And this is Danny Boyle's best work since "Trainspotting" for me.
While not as stylised as his classic 1996 film he still makes every single shot compelling.
I am shocked that he isn't up for a Best Director award at the Oscars this year and even more amazed that Sorkin is also absent from the nominations.
At least Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet were recognised with Winslet increasingly looking like taking her Supporting Actress category out.
She deserves to - she is incredible in this film.
Everyone knows that this is Leo's year but were it not I would be rooting for Fassbender who whilst perfectly mimicking Jobs voice forgoes a potentially ill-advised attempt to look like him with makeup or prosthetics.
Instead he does it with intensity and a little help from a suit or two and a polo neck sweater and sneakers.
I couldn't have liked this movie more.
It is an early frontrunner for best of the year.
There isn't a single aspect that isn't joyously great.
 |
| Perla Haney-Jardine as Lisa aged 19 |
On occasion his score is entirely absent.
At others it is a gentle presence in the background waiting to rise up to punctuate a key moment.
It often reminded me of Hans Zimmer's beautiful "Interstellar" score.
The structure and editing of this film are often startlingly great with a highlight being a heated argument between Jobs and Mike Sculley (a never better Jeff Daniels) subtly cutting back in time to highlight past events at the centre of current ones.
Seth Rogen is perfect as Wozniak but it is Michael Stuhlbarg who takes the supporting cast honours as Andy Hertzfeld
I find this film hard to fault.
For all the trouble that the production went through the end result could scarcely be better.
Sure- there is a lot of out and out made up stuff here but accuracy isn't the goal here.
Rather it is a fitting study of a figure well worthy of such.
This in my mind is THE definitive work to date.
Brilliant, amazing, incredible.... insanely great etc.
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