First there was the MacIntosh in ’84, then the NeXT cube in ’88 and finally, the iMac, in ’98.
Based on the book by Walter Isaacson, the film opens in 1984 @ the Macintosh launch. Immediately we’re drawn into the external and internal ‘drive’ of Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender) the man behind Apple. The scene is brilliant and sets the tone for the entire film.
That said, and since Jobs’s death four years ago, we’ve seen numerous artists attempt to go behind the myth of what made him tick. Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) gets to the bottom of it all, directing the film with such convincing and pulsating force. Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (Social Network) delivers rapid-fire dialog that is both geek and entertaining. Combined, the two filmmakers do such a great job bringing us Jobs…the man behind the machine.
Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet) is his head of marketing and the voice of reason. She constantly interrupts Jobs from the four people who constantly confront him….and usually backstage before a computer launch. There’s Andy Hertzfeld (Michael Stuhlbarg) the chief programmer, there’s CEO, John Scully (Jeff Daniels) who Jobs feels is “the only one who sees the world the way I do.” Yet his gratitude is betrayal. Jobs alienates people, employees…even his own daughter, refusing to admit (despite a paternity test) that she’s his. Her mother, Chrisann Brennan (Katerine Waterton) continues to show up on cue, with child in tow.
Like a horse-with-blinders on, Jobs forges forward on his mission of the future. The irony is that his company’s logo is “Think Different” even though he can’t. He ignores advice, “you can’t write code” – says Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogen) the man he refused to give credit to. Apparently the computer doesn’t have enough memory and neither does Jobs. He’s managed to forget who got him ‘there.’
The movie is both mind-boggling and banter-rat-a-tat-tat exhausting but continually engaging. And that’s a tough feat to pull off. Jobs brings the ability to love oneself to a new level, snipping at anyone who stands in his way. It’s no wonder the man died of pancreatic cancer…all that rage kept inside, and due to the pain (spoiler alert) pointed at a childhood adoption gone wrong.
Best screenplay of the year? Who can top Sorkin? Best actor of the year so far? Fassbender. And then there’s Danny Boyle. A talented director behind the camera who reboots us as an audience to want more. We know who we’ll see on the red carpet. ♔ ♕ ♚ ♛