Films > Film Reviews

Steve Jobs

15/11/15

There is an oft-repeated – and perhaps apocryphal – story, that when Steve Jobs was presented with the first prototype iPod, he said it was too big. “But we can’t possibly make it any smaller!” protested his engineer, upon which Jobs dropped the iPod into a fish tank, pointed to the air bubbles rising from it, and said, “that means there’s space in there. Make it smaller.”

The reason I mention this is that Steve Jobs, the brainchild of director Danny Boyle and scriptwriting maestro Aaron Sorkin, is put together with a similar disdain for unnecessary space. There are very few exterior shots, with the majority of the story unfolding backstage prior to three landmark product launches, one in 1984, one in 1988, and one in 1998.  And this minimalist triptych arrangement is not the films only concession to efficient packing; after about an hour I realised that there had been no let-up in dialogue since the first line, with not a solitary meaningful, pregnant silence to be heard (or not). With Sorkin, though, every word counts, and far from being the relentless barrage of noise and information it could have been in the hands of a lesser writer, I was hanging on every line.

Obviously, the cast has a lot to do with this. Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, and Jeff Daniels all support wonderfully, and any of them could be given a nod at next February’s Oscars. Michael Fassbender, though, holds it all together with a masterful and controlled performance – again, that attention to efficiency – and if it isn’t featured heavily in the upcoming awards frenzy, I’ll eat my iPhone.

The last time Sorkin took on similar subject matter – with 2010’s Zuckerberg “biopic” The Social Network – the results were pretty spectacular, and there are a few parallels here. TSN wasn’t really a film about Zuckerberg per se, but more an exploration of loyalty, privilege, and motivation with Zuckerberg as a character. Similarly, I doubt Boyle and Sorkin’s Steve Jobs is intended to be a faithful representation of the man, but rather a way to examine “greatness” – it’s nature, cost, and consequence. This Jobs is flawed, egocentric, ruthless, and detached, much like the Jobs in the fish tank story. 

My point is, if you’re a devoted Apple fan-boy (or -girl) looking to fawn your way through a reverential deification of your messiah, you’ll be more frustrated with this film than I am with iTunes. However, if you’re looking for two hours of compelling, precise, drum-tight theatre, iRecommend this highly.