STEVE JOBS

(October 2015, U.S.)

Since late March, I've posted nothing but STAR TREK and STAR WARS films. I have to say, it's somewhat of a relief to be back on the planet Earth again (sort of).

I live in among a small minority of people who do not praise the giants of our modern technological world as heroes. Men like the late Steve Jobs and Bill Gates mean nothing to me. Perhaps my negative attitude is derived from the fact that I've never adapted well to the machines and devices of the 21st century that everyone else around me seems to be addicted to like junkies. Sure, I a computer for my job, for my writing and I own an iPod (two, actually) and an iPhone (for only two years now), but that still doesn't mean I don't enjoy the times when I can simply read a good book and listen to my favorite classic rock radio station without the need to check my Facebook status. Still, my purpose here is to judge the world of movies, and if they happen to take me inside the life of the man who seemingly revolutionized the entire way we live our lives today (damn him!), then so be it. But like so many other so-called biographical films on the life of any person, we have to take its content with a grain of salt regarding how much is accurate and how much is simply based on "true events".

I can start off by telling you that Danny Boyle's STEVE JOBS is a far greater improvement over JOBS (2013) which starred Ashton Kutcher as 'ol Steve (not that Demi Moore's ex didn't bear a striking resemblance). Irish actor Michael Fassbender bears little-to-no resemblance, but like Oliver Stone's NIXON (1995), lack of physical characteristics is wonderfully compensated with story structure, dialogue and performance. This is not a film about the life of Steve Jobs, but rather a carefully-crafted three act structure that documents three pivotal moments over the course of Jobs's life on the very day he was set to launch three of his most quintessential products. Act I (as I'll call it) takes place in the year 1984 shortly after Apple's "1984" Super Bowl commercial that made television history. As Steve and his tech and marketing team, led by Joanna Hoffman (played by Kate Winslet) are scrambling around like chickens without heads trying desperately to make their new Macintosh say "hello" to the anxious crowd, Steve is personally tormented by his ex-girlfriend Chrisann Brennan who insists that her five year-old daughter Lisa is his. Steve rants and raves, denying that he's father, while still trying to control a world of technology that seems uncontrollable. Meanwhile, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak insists that Jobs acknowledge the Apple II team in his presentation. Jobs refuses, citing that mentioning a computer he feels is now obsolete, is unwarranted. Well, I suppose any of us that actually owned a Macintosh (I didn't) know of its history and ultimate downfall.

Act II jumps ahead four years to the year 1988, and we're caught up with the progress of Apple and Steve Jobs through authentic news coverage of the past. Following the Mac's failure, Steve was fired from Apple and has founded his new company NeXT. It's another day and another launch presentation, and Steve's personal demons don't seem to have improved. Lisa is nine years-old now and his relationship with her still feels strained, though he hasn't rejected her entirely, continuing to pay for the needs of her and her seemingly unfit mother. Apple CEO John Sculley (played by Jeff Daniels) insists on knowing why the world believes he fired Jobs, feeling they don't know the truth. Through much of the backstage antics, we learn that Steve actually designed his NeXT computer to entice Apple into buying the company and reinstating him. It would appear that the last four years have been spent as a building process for Steve's revenge against those who fired him. I can only say that if that account is accurate, I can't but feel a certain degree of admiration for someone who's not willing to stand by and allow others to betray him without penalty...even if it takes four years.

Act III is now ten year later in the year 1998 and the world is primed for the launch of the all-colorful iMac (again, never had one). Steve is back on top at Apple, is still full of himself, and Scully himself has been fired. Honestly, by this time, I've practically lost interest in the tech world of this film and am more intrigued to see what shall become of Steve's personal life. Lisa is nineteen and on the verge of attending Harvard as long as everyone involved can just get her tuition affairs in order. Steve's final redemption rings true when he finally apologizes to Lisa for the kind of father he's been to her, citing that he's "poorly made" (geez, the guy can't get his head out of the circuits for a moment, can he!). The film ends with his third and final launch of his new product that will continue to keep him on top of the world, but not before a great moment when he confesses to Lisa that he's sick and tired of watching her carry around a large Walkman and promises that he's going to "put a thousand songs in your pocket", thus verbally originating what will one day become the first iPod.

Like many films that depend on real people to carry out a film's actions STEVE JOBS is a highly intriguing and entertaining story in which effective dialogue and almost electric tension from a vivid man like Michael Fassbender and those around him allow the story to be told of a man who's never entirely sure of where he fits into the larger picture of life, both in business and fatherhood. Through the crisis of others, we can't help but feel just how important and critical everything in the computer world really is, even if it means nothing to us personally. I'm not saying this film will deeply affect how you perceive a man like Steve Jobs because that's depends completely on your own realities about him and how much of this film you want to accept as accurate or not. Simply put, STEVE JOBS is riveting entertainment on film because it works in showing us who a man like Steve Jobs could have been.

Favorite line or dialogue:

Steve Jobs: "I'm gonna put music in your pocket."
Lisa Brennan: "What?"
Steve: "A hundred songs. A thousand songs. Five hundred songs. Somewhere between five hundred and a thousand songs. Right in your pocket. Because I can't stand looking at that ridiculous Walkman anymore. You're carrying around a brick playing a cassette tape. We're not savages. I'm gonna put a thousand songs in your pocket."
Lisa: "You can do that?"
Steve: "We're very close. All I have to do really is wipe out the record business as we know it, and we'll be all set."