Writer Aaron Sorkin is back with another biography about a tech mogul. This time it is about one of the most famous men in technology boom: Steve Jobs.
This film had are hard time in development with actors like Christian Bale and Leonardo DiCaprio being considered to play the role of the former Apple CEO. But actors dropping in and out caused Sony to pull the plug on the film even after Michael Fassbender was cast in the lead role. It was when Universal Pictures bought the production that things started to turn around. Casting choices were made and finalized and filming took place.
The final product is interesting look at the life of Steve Jobs. Unlike Sorkin's last movie, The Social Network, it does not show every event occurring in the life of Jobs. This could be because most people know about the history of Apple. Instead the story takes place at key events in Jobs life like the unveiling of the Mac, the founding of NeXt, and concluding with the reveal of the IMac. But the focus is not on the technology, instead it is on Job's growth as a person and a father.
In the beginning of the film, Jobs is shown as cocky, over-confident and egotistical. He wants nothing to do with his former girlfriend and the child they had together but as time goes on Jobs, thanks to his confidant Joanna Hoffman, realizes the mistakes he has made and tries to re-connect with his daughter, even coming up with the IPod as a way of getting her to stop using the Walkman.
Another interesting relationship in the movie is between Jobs and Hoffman. Hoffman always is the one to get Jobs head out of the clouds and back to reality. It is during the prep for the IMac's reveal that she threatens to leave him after years of service to him if he does not make things right with his daughter. It is a surprising outburst as Hoffman has been dealing with Jobs' ego for a long time. She is at times a mother and a grounder to Jobs, reminding him of the reality that lies outside of his massive ego.
If you are worried that the real life people portrayed in the movie would be unrealistic, fear not as most of the people portrayed in the film have voiced pleasure of the film. Steve Wozniak, best friend and fellow co-founder of Apple, said that watching the film "was like actually watching Steve Jobs..". Journalist Walt Mossberg compared the film to Citizen Kane saying that both films were well developed but was not happy with how the film focused more on the negative aspects of Jobs early life and not saying anything about the world changing products and Jobs' maturing into a different person.
Steve Jobs offers a unique look inside the early life of the Apple co-founder. It shows a side of Jobs that most people choose to forget or haven't seen. He wasn't always the man we saw before his death and people need to be reminded of that. Michael Fassbender does a great performance of the Apple co-founder everybody knows, Seth Rogen goes out of his element to give a surprisingly emotional performance as Wozniak, Kate Winslet is fantastic as Jobs confidant Hoffman, and Jeff Daniels once again shows his dramatic acting chops as former Apple CEO John Scully. While it may not please some Steve Jobs purists out there, Sorkin gives us a look at the man behind Apple that we needed.
No comments:
Post a Comment