Steve Jobs

It's been five years since The Social Network and at long last, Aaron Sorkin's given the dialogue lovers of the world another film to fawn over, the talk-a-thon that is Steve Jobs. Helmed by Danny Boyle and starring Michael Fassbender as the co-founder of Apple, I've been desperate to see this one for months. I've taken the time to review it so you already know what I'm going to say ...

Back in the olden days, films were called "Talkies" - that name certainly befits Steve Jobs. It may not have much action, or arguably, much of a story, but don't think for one second that that means it's boring. Aaron Sorkin's relentless script and Danny Boyle's powerful direction meld together to create a film so tense and dramatic that I came out of the cinema exhausted. Kate Winslet calls it an action movie with words and that's a perfect description.

SJ is set backstage, in the corridors and dressing rooms of various theatres in the minutes leading up to three of the most significant product launches in Jobs' career. The first in 1984 when Apple launched the 'Mac', the second in 1988 when Job's launched 'The Black Box' through his own company NeXT and the last in 1998 when he triumphantly returned to Apple with the launch of the 'iMac'. Sorkin has effectively put a timer on each of his key scenes, ratcheting up the pace as it gets closer and closer to showtime. Infuriatingly and brilliantly though, we never actually get to hear any of the speeches Jobs' is preparing to give. Instead, Boyle splices together old news casts with pulsating music, flashing forward through the highs and lows of Jobs' career in the intervening years before the next launch.

SJ is effectively three very long conversations between Jobs and the people who had an impact on his life, personally and professionally. They’re not the kind of conversations you and I might have. I suspect they’re not the kind of conversations Steve Jobs would have had either. Nobody in real life talks like the characters in a Sorkin script. No one is quick witted enough to spontaneously come out with quips as slick as the ones he does, but that doesn't matter - each one lands so satisfyingly that you want to punch the air. The fantastic thing though, is that it’s not all super slick dialogue. Sorkin leaves in the unnecessary naturalities of conversation that other writers would discard. Whilst in the middle of a row with his daughter, a particularly stressed Jobs' keeps being reminded by his assistant that "Andy" is here to see him, but there are two possible Andy's and Jobs keeps having to pause his argument to ask "which one?" It becomes a running gag until he eventually snaps, ranting about how one of them needs to change his name. (It may not sound it here, but trust me) it’s very funny and it’s moments like this that make the characters feel human. 

The Jobs you see on screen is completely human; flawed, multi-faceted, evolving, but whether he’s a faithful reflection of the real man is doubtful. Like all the best characters, it’s difficult to say whether I liked him or not. At the start of the film he comes across as a bit of a maniac, almost impossible to work with and completely obsessed with making his mark on the world. Though he alienates most of his colleagues and friends, you can see why they were attracted to him to begin with, his passion for what he does makes him magnetic. Although he’s often harsh (if I was on the receiving end of one of his well-aimed snipes I’d go and cry in a corner) there’s only one bit of the film where he really came across to me as callous. During a particularly heated exchange, ex-colleague John Scully asks Jobs if he’s going to “end” him. Fassbender spits the response - "You're being ridiculous, I'm going to sit centre court and watch you do it yourself". It was during this scene that I could understand why Jobs’ widow had such a problem with the film being made. Still, overall I don’t think he comes out of it badly. Whether that's because of the personal journey he goes on through the film or because, in hindsight we know that he achieved what he was always trying to, is hard to say.

Of course, it could be because of a different reason altogether, a reason called Joanna Hoffman. Joanna was the Marketing Executive of Apple, and Jobs’ right-hand woman throughout his career. She was the only one who could stand up to him, the only one he’d listen to and at times, the only one who cared for him. She is the true heart of this film, the true heart of Jobs’ and Kate Winslet plays her to perfection. Aaron Sorkin, if you’re reading this, can we have a film about her next please? Winslet might outshine the others but there are plenty of brilliant supporting performances in this film. Seth Rogan and Michael Stuhlbarg as Steve Wozniak and Andy Hertzfeld, are the put upon brains behind Jobs’ vision. Katherine Waterstone is his troubled ex-girlfriend and mother of his child and Jeff Daniels blew me away as John Scully, Jobs’ some time foe and father figure.

When a script is as powerful as this one, it's quite a challenge for the actors to make you forget it was ever written. Michael Fassbender has the most to do in this film by a country mile – as Winslet said, he’s on every page - but he's effortless, reeling off reems and reems of words as if they were just tumbling out of his head. Jobs is not a calm or softly spoken man and he practically never sits still backstage but Fassbender never lets the energy drop for a second, he’s on it in every scene. And surely part of the reason that Jobs has any likeability at all, is down to the actor who plays him. Fassbender is notorious for his intense performances but he can portray vulnerability, softness and charm just as well.

Seems Sorkin's fondness for words is rubbing off on me, I think this may be the longest recommendation I've ever done and I haven't even mentioned the direction yet. Let's get on to that now. In some ways Danny Boyle had very little to do here, in other ways he had to do everything. Sorkin's scripts come with no stage directions, so Boyle has free reign over the finer points of the actors' performances and the overall style of the film. The thing that makes it so compelling though, is its pace - something partially achieved by its script, but very clearly also down to Boyle. He's found the rhythm in the words and chosen cuts and angles that marry up with them perfectly. Even in those rare moments where no one is talking, there's swelling music and shots of expectant crowds stamping their feet in anticipation, the excitement is building. When Jobs is locked in an intense conversation with someone, there is a constant stream of people buzzing about around him, a frenzy of activity as we get closer and closer to the launch. But of course, the script is the star of this show, and Boyle knows that to try and compete with it would be foolish. He keeps the look clean and uncomplicated, reflecting the aesthetic ideals of Jobs himself. There's a real beauty in that.

But for all the talking in this film, it's as much about what isn't said as what is. It ends before we reach the iPhone era, the golden age of Jobs' career, though there is an allusion to the iPod in the last few minutes that will give you chills. Of course, leaving the story in 1998 means that we never see Jobs in the midst of his illness, and, after seeing the passion and drive that he put into his vision, it feels right that we should leave the story as the enormity of the impact he would leave on the world is just starting to dawn on him.