Steve Jobs: Movie Review

Danny Boyle’s “Steve Jobs” isn’t the first film about the late Apple CEO but it is by far the best one. It may not always be factually accurate (most biopics aren’t), but Michael Fassbender does a fantastic job with his portrayal of Jobs. Based on the book by Walter Isaacson with the screenplay by Aaron Sorkin, “Steve Jobs” isn’t your normal biopic and I mean that in a good way. This time around, we are taken backstage during three major product launches, the “Macintosh” (1984), the “Next” (1988), and the “iMac” (1998). We are shown just how brutal it can be working with the computer icon.

“Steve Jobs” wisely focuses on three specific days and the pressure he places on the people around him. Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet) who refers to herself as Steve’s “work wife” spends more time with him than anyone else and is the only one who is willing to stand up to him. Job’s best friend and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogen) can’t even get him to acknowledge those who helped create Apple’s most successful product at the time during the launch of the Macintosh. Jobs will even threaten to publicly humiliate an employee if they can’t do what he demands. Nobody knows that better than Andy Hertzfeld (Michael Stuhlbarg) who has to deal with a last minute system crash during the Macintosh launch.

There is a high energy to “Steve Jobs” which helps make the film compelling. However it falters when Job’s daughter Lisa (Perla Haney-Jardine (19), Ripley Sobo (9), Makenzie Moss (5)) and his ex-wife Chrisann (Katherine Waterston) are brought into the story. I am sure it was done to humanize Jobs but it feels forced. The film works much better when focused on Jobs and his team, including John Sculley (Jeff Daniels).

“Steve Jobs” was a genius, even if he wasn’t the one who actually built the computers. He had a vision and knew how to get others to help turn that vision into a reality. As Jobs would say, they played the instruments, while he played the orchestra.

By: Marc Ferman