Official Synopsis
Witness the founder of Apple like never before. Steve Jobs paints an intimate portrait of the brilliant man at the epicenter of the digital revolution, backstage in the final minutes before three iconic product launches. Directed by Academy Award® winner Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire), written by Academy Award® winner Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) and starring Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen and Jeff Daniels.
Telling the best moments of a man’s life on film is sometimes (and I mean ‘sometimes’)focusing on the transitional bridges of his life. That is the strategy that director Danny Boyle went with when deciding on the best method to tell Steve Jobs’ life. And Boyle did it oddly well.
Let’s get right to it.
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The first act of the film begins with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Jobs is shown as a perfectionist, one that doesn’t accept failure, even from his lead guy Andy Hertzfeld (Michael Stuhlbarg), whom he challenges to get his smaller Macintosh to say ‘hello’ (even though it cannot) or it will cost Hertzfeld his reputation and possibly his job. Ridiculous in his actions, uncompromising with his demands, Jobs life, attitude and self are established in a five minute introduction of Boyle’s film. BUT! Even in Jobs’ extreme moments, he is kept grounded by his assistant on the Macintosh team, Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet), who has to constantly remind him of his schedule, current workforce efforts and the needs of his shunned ex-wife and rejected child.
This is the first act and it is brilliant. It establishes the pattern that Boyle is heading. He is solely focusing on Jobs and his relationship from within his throne room at specific Steve Jobs announcements/conferences. They are pivotal moments and ones that chronologically follow the rise, fall and rebirth of Jobs’ business life, while dabbling in his personal life. Boyle doesn’t seem to mind that he doesn’t have to figure out how to fit the best moments of Steve Jobs’ personal life in between these conferences as necessary fillers. Instead, Boyle relies on these conferences to tell the story of Jobs, while using brief flashbacks to support the rest. It goes against every Steve Jobs film up to this point, though I have to say Pirates of Silicon Valley still has the best method of figuring that formula out.
Anyway, act two begins as Steve Jobs is waiting for his NeXT machine to be announced/launched. Purposely overpriced, geared towards the wrong audience (K-12 educators, who cannot afford the $10,000 asking/starting price), the event shows Jobs’ strategy (selling the operating system from the NeXT) on how he intends on getting back to Apple, who needs him badly. While the NeXT event doesn’t really go off well, the majority of this act is an intense discussion between Jobs and Apple CEO, and former friend, John Sculley (Jeff Daniels). The pair spend the majority of the act trying to sort out their damaged relationship. All the while, we get more flashbacks to help support the situation where Sculley is essentially firing Jobs from Apple.
Act two flows well. It keeps the energy from act one moving forward, shifts gears a bit with Jobs’ attitude (getting him more grounded) and improves a budding relationship with his estranged daughter, Lisa. It’s a beautiful crack in Jobs’ armor and a natural progression within the storytelling. I will say that while I fully understand what went on with NeXT, my wife was a bit lost. The discussion of plans between Jobs and Hoffman goes quick, isn’t fully explained and isn’t really brought back until the small bridge between the second act and third is made. Beyond that, it’s a great act that fully establishes what went down with Apple and Jobs and how Sculley orchestrated it.
As act three begins, we find Jobs on the brink of the iMac announcement in the late 90s. Wearing a more familiar jeans/black turtleneck. He has lost most of the people in his life and is on the verge of losing his daughter, who is 19 and about to sell her house to afford school. Angry at her and bitter towards her mother, Jobs does his best, with the help of Hoffman, to get the damage relationship back on track.
Act three does its best to provide a more humble view of Jobs and, again, a natural progression with his life. His end note in his relationship with Lisa is endearing. Boyle really captures the emotion that Fassbender’s Jobs gives off. It’s an eye-opening moment for Jobs is properly pushed and Fassbender’s Jobs is finally somewhat likable through his eventual compromise with his perfect life. It’s a beautiful way to end Boyle’s tale of the most powerful electronic guru to have currently ever lived in the modern era.
Overall, Director Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs is awkward in form, simple in delivery, but nonetheless powerful. His casting choice with Fassbender, Winslet and pretty much everyone is meticulous, methodical and it pays off at the end. A great film from Boyle that truly captures everything about Jobs on a very personal level.
In terms of Blu-ray delivery, the movie is gorgeous on Blu-ray. The color scheme between conferences is enormously representative visually. It looks perfect and carries no sign of imperfections (no color banding, no artifacts). It’s a great transfer from Universal.
In the special features category, here’s what you’re getting:
• Inside Jobs: The Making of Steve Jobs
• Feature Commentary with Director Danny Boyle
• Feature Commentary with Writer Aaron Sorkin and Editor Elliot Graham
Good features, but not abundant. The commentary is damn good, though.
