Review #986: 'Steve Jobs' (2015)

Since his death in 2011, the world - including those who had never heard of the turtle-neck-sporting tech genius and innovator - has come to learn that the great Steve Jobs was in fact a massive dick. Like every great man, the flaws in his personality have been forgiven or excused in favour of a 'tortured genius' label, but this has not stopped various movies and documentaries cropping up to try and paint a true-to-life picture. Danny Boyle's Steve Jobs, starring Michael Fassbender in the title role, likes to think that his humanity emerged with his advancing years, as he went about literally changing the way we live our lives.

If you're someone who proudly boasts about the lack of a Facebook profile or prefers to stare out of the window during a bus-ride as opposed to staring open-mouthed at your phone, then the tech-worship and subtle hints at the innovations Jobs would go on to create may completely pass you by. I like to think I'm one of those people, but I felt like I may as well be carrying a spear and wearing a bear-skin when the 3G disappeared from my phone the other day. The film's narrative disregards the traditional biopic formula in favour of three 30 minute-plus acts, each set just before the launch of three of Jobs most famous creations - the Apple Macintosh in 1984, the NeXT computer in 1988, and the game-changing iMac in 1998.

Throughout the years, a set of key characters mingle and/or class with Jobs. Headstrong marketing executive Joan Hoffman (Kate Winslet) tries to bring the best out of her boss, but is visibly appalled when he repeatedly denies that he is the father of Lisa (played by Makenzie Moss, Ripley Sobo and Perla Haney-Jardine at various ages), often to her face. Old friend Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogen) asks him to acknowledge the efforts of the Apple II team during his presentation, much to Jobs' disgust, but fails when Jobs is fired by Apple after the failure of the Macintosh. His boss John Sculley (Jeff Daniels) finds himself blamed for Jobs' sacking in the media when he repeatedly stuck up for him and warned him of the repercussions of failing to lower the Macintosh's price.

Fassbender, although sharing little physical resemblance to the man, is outstanding, playing Jobs with a faint (and ironic) disconnection to the world and little grasp of how he is perceived by others. Aaron Sorkin, who is on script duties, goes overtime with the fast and jargon-heavy talk, and the film is rich with his signature corridor-pacing conversations. The decision to condense his key years into three acts offers a fresh take on the usual incident-by-incident biographies, but it also means that characters are ushered into scenes unnaturally to resolve their personal conflict, with Wozniak especially reduced to a conduit for the audience. Boyle's direction is refreshingly unflashy when compared to the senses-rattling Trance (2013), and instead allows his actors and their quick-fire dialogue to breathe freely. It certainly falls short the other biopic of a technological innovator - The Social Network (2010) - but, despite its flaws, it still manages to find a soul within its obnoxious bully.

Directed by: Danny Boyle

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Jeff Daniels, Michael Stuhlbarg, Katherine Waterston, John Ortiz

Country: USA/UK

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie