A Look at the Man Behind Many Innovations

Michael Fassbender in "Steve Jobs"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com

Given his significant steps towards technological advancement, it was inevitable that a film based on the late Steve Jobs would get made.  First, their was 2013’s “Jobs,” starring Ashton Kutcher, which, I’ll just say right now, I chose to skip because it didn’t look like a quality film that an important figure like Steve Jobs deserved.

Two years later, we have it.  In Danny Boyle’s drama, “Steve Jobs,” he follows the icon as he works backstage during three product launches.  If you don’t think that story structure sounds interesting, trust me, you’ll be missing out if you choose not to see it.  In a film that overflows with scorching dialogue and blazing performances, Boyle gives us one of the best and most exhilarating films of the year.

During his time working with Apple, co-founder Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender) is facing difficulty in working amiably with his colleagues, while also being in the middle of a strained relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Chrisann Brennan (Katherine Waterston), with whom Jobs fathered a daughter.  As Jobs traverses these challenges, the story shows him working behind the scenes of three big product launches: the Apple Mackintosh in 1984, the NeXT Computer in 1988, and the iMac in 1998.

Michael Fassbender brings to life the spirit of high-tech breakthroughs Steve Jobs was known for.  But, one of the best parts about his character is that the movie allows us to see Jobs not only as a successful businessman, but also as a flawed individual.  Throughout the film, we see Jobs’ hard-to-tolerate personality, and its easy for us to feel the annoyance towards him the other characters feel, and that’s one of several great aspects about Fassbender’s performance.  In his portrayal of Jobs, Fassbender continues to prove he is an actor who can dominate a film with ease.

Seth Rogen turns in a performance that is refreshingly against type as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.  Although Rogen rarely does dramatic roles, he doesn’t show any hint of a struggle in pulling it off for this film.  In his climactic confrontation with Jobs in the film’s third act, I knew that this is a side to Rogen’s acting I would love to see more often.

The screenplay by Aaron Sorkin, which is based on Walter Isaacson’s biography, “Steve Jobs,” is similar to his screenwriting work for “The Social Network,” seeing as both films focus on tension between individuals within a company and how business can sometimes damage relationships.  There is one scene in particular that relates to this, and it’s the scene in the second act where Jobs and Sculley discuss the reasoning behind the former being let go from Apple.  The conversation is a fast-paced fight with words, and it’s one of the best sequences in the film.

With the narrative being broken up into three acts dealing with preparations for three different product launches, the story acts as a sort of “Wizard of Oz” peak behind the curtain that provides us with a glimpse of the kind of person Steve Jobs was.  In each of these chapters we see from Jobs’ life, we get a look at how success and failure shaped him into the notable tech guru he became.

Director Danny Boyle brings much power to “Steve Jobs,” and just like David Fincher achieved with “The Social Network,” Boyle is able to construct scenes that brim with the intensity of Sorkin’s first-rate dialogue.  In a movie that thrives on its script and talented cast, Boyle combines the strengths of both to craft a film that makes a superb contribution to Steve Jobs’ memory.

Final grade: A