Movie Review: ‘Steve Jobs,’ a hyper-real look at the late icon

MOVIE REVIEW: “STEVE JOBS” (R)

In the Aaron Sorkin-penned rise-of-Facebook drama “The Social Network,” there’s a moment when Marylin Delpy (Rashida Jones) says to Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), “Mark, you’re not an asshole. You’re just trying so hard to be one.” Well, as depicted in the new Sorkin-penned drama “Steve Jobs,” it’s clear that the driving force behind Apple wasn’t trying so hard to be an asshole; he really was one.

Of course, it should be noted that this Danny Boyle-directed character-driven piece is a partially speculative take on a best-selling biography by Walter Issacson, and plenty of folks who worked in close proximity with the real Jobs have been quick to suggest as much. It’s clear that this is a hyper-real dramatization, and audiences shouldn’t be so quick to take everything that happens in it as fact anymore than they should be quick to take everything in something like Oliver Stone’s “Nixon” as fact.

“Steve Jobs” focuses on the intimate backstage dealings revolving around three major Apple product launches, beginning with the Macintosh in 1984 and ending with the unveiling of the iMac in 1998. Through it all, a very complicated but undeniably innovative Steve Jobs would be at the center of one truly prophetic question: Can a great man be a good man?

A positively mesmerizing Michael Fassbender portrays Jobs in all his eccentric and driven glory. Fassbender plays this well-known figure as an ambitious man who would do just about anything to maintain a high level of control in his position. This would include undermining, intimidating, threatening, and straight up insulting the individuals—including longtime friend and collaborator Steve “Woz” Wozniak (Seth Rogen) and mentor John Sculley (Jeff Daniels)—who were instrumental in getting him to his level of power in the first place.

It would also include Jobs’ denying his own daughter, even though a test would prove with over 94 percent accuracy that the child was, in fact, his. Fassbender plays each and every moment in this picture with a magnetic, fierce, unapologetic sense of purpose. Simply put, he and Terrence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons) of “Whiplash” fame would make great bowling partners.

Rogen is solid as Woz, bringing genuine likability to the role. Watching his laidback genius square off against the more egomaniacal Jobs is entertaining to say the least. Daniels is superb as Sculley. His pivotal heated exchanges with Jobs are intense and in a few instances, heartbreaking. Michael Stuhlbarg also turns in wonderful work as a seemingly picked on Andy Hertzfeld. A sequence in which Jobs confronts Hertzfeld after he intervenes in private family matters is among the more gripping scenes in the movie.

“Steve Jobs” isn’t just about bickering ambitious men, either. Kate Winslet soars as Joanna Hoffman, one of Jobs’ most trustworthy advisors. She aids this man throughout his iconic run because she recognizes his true genius, and while generally speaking, she’s always at his disposal, she isn’t at all afraid to speak her mind, particularly where Jobs’ virtually nonexistent relationship with his daughter is concerned. In one of the more dramatic moments in this picture, Hoffman breaks down and gives Jobs a proper tongue lashing, demanding that he take responsibility and be there for his child.

Katherine Waterson is also quite good here in a rather small role as Chrisann Brennan—the mother of Jobs’ child. The more Jobs denies his daughter, the more abrasive and confrontational an on-edge but strong-willed Brennan becomes. Waterson makes the most of a very short amount of screen time.

As stellar as this cast is, it helps that they have a wordsmith like Sorkin in their corner. This man can write! Yes, he takes creative license with many of the facts behind a historical legend, but there is no doubt that “Steve Jobs” bristles with intensity and colorful wordplay. This movie is simply a joy to listen to, and a great deal of that has to be attributed to Sorkin’s highly energized script.

Another part of it should be attributed to Boyle’s technically astute direction. Even though “Steve Jobs” is dense and talky, it crackles with undeniable intensity. Look no further than a dynamic conversational sequence featuring Jobs and Sculley. The way Boyle and his editor Elliot Graham juxtapose two heated exchanges simultaneously is simply masterful, as is the way this terrific filmmaker sporadically gives us brief snapshots of the past throughout the picture.

Furthermore, it’s a fitting decision on Boyle and Sorkin’s part to liken Jobs’ mythical status in the digital age to that of a rock star. Be it Woz’s colorful Beatles analogy or the fashion in which Jobs enters the stage to flashing lights and thunderous cheering during the film’s final Apple product launch. This stuff really works, and it’s all complemented by an outstanding Daniel Pemberton score.

There are certainly a few missteps here. Jobs comes across as unbelievably callous for a great deal of this film’s running time, but then, there’s a bit of a switch in the final act. In addition to being a little conveniently pat, it’s a switch that doesn’t feel entirely earned. Still, that’s a minor quibble regarding what is an otherwise expertly crafted movie about a world-renowned icon.

Boyle and Sorkin have crafted a bigger-than-life look at the American Dream, and they filter it through the eyes of a man who would sacrifice just about everything for success. This is a guy who refused to give up even when it looked like his vision might be going down the toilet. And the fact that he was persistent and chose to keep pushing forward rather than rolling over and giving up might just say more about his character than a lot of the flaws that this film speculates made up his complex psyche.

Was Jobs the asshole some folks—and this movie—made him out to be? And if so, had he not been, would we have the iPad today? Those are intriguing questions that are nearly impossible to answer. One thing is certain, though: “Steve Jobs” is a compelling movie about a compelling individual, all skillfully constructed by a team of truly gifted storytellers.