Thursday, March 3, 2016

Steve Jobs (2015) - 8 stars out of 10

Steve Jobs (2015) - 8 stars out of 10

"Steve Jobs" is a surprisingly unbecoming look at the cofounder of Apple.  This was nothing like what I expected.  The film is based on the biography of Steve Jobs in which he encouraged the interviewees to be honest and waived his right to preview the book before its release.  The honesty of this film is vivid.  Rather than detail the life events of Jobs, this film examines the character of this man.  We expect to see Jobs portrayed as a successful billionaire but it actually shows him to be an arrogant workaholic with an inability to communicate with his coworkers and daughter.  The story takes place in three acts and tells his story through the lens of three major product launches during his career – the Apple Macintosh, the NeXT Computer, and the iMac.  Danny Boyle's approach to creating a portrayal of Jobs is successful in that it is unique but it also falls short of expectations because we were all expecting a traditional biopic.  As long as you know what to expect, you will be blown away by the impeccable performances by Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet that were both worthy of their Oscar nominations.  Seth Rogan, Jeff Daniels, and Katherine Waterston also turn in great performances that enhance this film’s realism.  The nonstop energy that permeates the film comes straight from the complex relationships between the various characters.  It is as if every relationship could be categorized into its own conflict: Man vs. Caring Assistant, Man vs. Freeloading Ex, Man vs. Friend (whom he treats terribly), Man vs. Inferior Coworker, Man vs. Boss, and most interestingly, Man vs. Mistreated Daughter.  There are so many emotions in this film and they all filter through Fassbender as he distributes them toward the appropriate party.  2016 was an incredibly strong year for film so it is no surprise that this film missed out on nominations in the directing, editing, and production categories, but it is a quality film with amazing acting performances and it is worth two hours of your time.


[Pictured: Incredible acting energizes the entire film]

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