At this point in the cultural lexicon Steve Jobs is an ethereal figure. He’s held in high regard by nearly every person that has wielded one of his mighty devices and by the stock holders that have reaped the benefits. His name is synonymous with success. But throughout his career Jobs had to be something else, something behind the scenes. This mystery is the driving force behind the new film…aptly titled Steve Jobs. Who really was the man behind the favorite devices of our time?
The answer on-screen? A real dick apparently. Steve Jobs finds the mythical man (played expertly if not a bit too sexily by Michael Fassbender) behind the scenes before each of three separate product launches. Each is given a distinct look – from the upstart graininess of the original Macintosh launch in 1984 to the digital whimsy of the iMac in 1998. On the cusp of the presentations he is approached by colleagues, rivals old and new and a daughter that is most definitely his even if he won’t admit it.
Chief among them is Head of Marketing at Apple Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet.) She is Jobs’ Greek Chorus – a cavalcade of quips and advice directed squarely at his humanity. She’s his closest confidant and most respected adviser. In 1984 she is prepping him for the most important moment of his life while also attempting to juggle his interactions with Chrisann Brennan (Katherine Waterston) – a woman who claims, with a 94.1% probability, that he is the father of her daughter Lisa.
Chrisann lays it on thick in this early glimpse, explaining not so subtly that Steve is worth a balmy $400 million yet she is living on welfare in an apartment with no heat. Oh, not to mention he’s the father of her child to which Jobs responded in TIME magazine, “28.1% of American men could be her father.”
Beyond his paternal issues Jobs must also deal with the wants of his many colleagues. Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogen) wants him to acknowledge the work of the Apple II team, the only product that actually makes money for the company. Jobs continually refuses, wanting to move beyond the old product in service of something fresh. This in turn moves him farther away from his close friend (and co-founder) in service of his own ego.
Next up is Andy Hertzfeld (Michael Stuhlbarg) – one of Jobs chief engineers. Andy is afraid the Mac won’t say hello which Steve insists it must. One of Andy’s sole purposes is to tell Steve no which might have been the worst imaginable job at Apple. Lastly is John Sculley (Jeff Daniels,) Apple CEO. Sculley was Jobs biggest advocate in the company at the time and the man who helped him sell the famous Macintosh Super Bowl ad to the Apple Board of Directors.
Each of these relationships is explored in depth in the film’s three acts, further strained and developed. But writer Aaron Sorkin is most concerned about one – that of Jobs and his daughter Lisa. It’s Sorkin’s clear thesis that at the center of Steve Jobs was a man aching for a true human experience. He presents Jobs as an asshole, so hell bent on success that he will ignore all relationships that don’t further his own aspirations.
And Sorkin’s words are really the star here – breathing fire into each conversation as we dive deeper into Jobs career. He’s not at all concerned about the technology behind the man, it’s merely ancillary to his human experiences. Sorkin’s obvious disdain for technology is occasionally off putting but what he’s after is bolder.
Director Danny Boyle has a much bigger challenge – make this largely static screenplay come to life. He does so admirably by keeping the pace lively and often comedic. This isn’t Birdman by any means but the claustrophobia of the backstage at a concert hall is the perfect place to stage a classic Sorkin walk and talk.
It helps that Boyle has cast some of the best actors in Hollywood to deliver the Sorkinese. Fassbender is just way too good looking to truly ever disappear into Jobs but his distinct lack of empathy helps bridge the gap. His interactions with Lisa are almost robotic at first but he begins to strip away the artifice, revealing pieces of Jobs we hope were there. Kate Winslet as Joanna Hoffman donning a fantastic Polish-accent is Fassbender’s equal in every way and sells their relationship with passion and heartache. Rogan, Stuhlbarg, Daniels and Waterston round out an impressive principal cast that feels unexpectedly seasoned at a type of dialogue few can pull off.
I’ve thought for some time if you give Aaron Sorkin a wealthy white-man with Daddy issues he will write the shit out of it and boy he doesn’t disappoint with Steve Jobs. It’s very true none of the interactions that happen on screen actually happened but the attempt to craft a story around the impression of such a vital figure is ambitious and impressive. The Steve Jobs presented here is an incomplete one but regardless of who he truly was his impact will always float above us on an iCloud.
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