The Reveal

Rating: 8/10 (27 January 2016)

Disclaimer: This review does not reflect opinions on the man Steve Jobs, but the 2015 Film and for the purposes of this review it is better to think of him as a fictional character as the film has come under lots of fire for not being historically accurate.
Around the middle of the film, Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender) looks at various portraits of great leaders as his face fades out and Napoleon's fades in. This is the perfect summary of the film's portrayal of him. The film directed by Danny Boyle ( Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire) and written by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, A Few Good Men) has been a combination that many people have been looking forward to in this film. Just as many people anticipated it feels similar to Sorkin's The Social Network in that it attempts to show what a man is truly like behind the public image that he creates.
The film is separated into three acts and each act is a different product launch that Jobs is involved in. The entire act is the short time before the launch (it appears to be in real time, but it is hard to tell sometimes since they don't give exact times). Each of these acts also reflect a large time in Job's life. The first launch is that of the Macintosh in 1984 when Apple had become a brand name and a very successful company with Jobs as the co-founder. The second launch is that of the NeXT computer in 1988 that Jobs created after he was fired from Apple. The third and final launch was that of the iMac in 1998. Each launch also has flashbacks to Jobs earlier life and the events that lead to the that launch. For Example, in the first launch there is a flashback to Steve Jobs and his friend Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogen) inventing a computer in their garage. Each launch also has key interactions with four people in Jobs's life: Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet) who is Apple's marketing executive, John Sculley ( Jeff Daniels) who is Apple's CEO from 1983-1993, Steve Wozniak who is Apple's co-founder with Jobs and Lisa Brennan- Jobs (Perla Haney-Jardine, Ripley Sobo, and Makenzie Moss) who is Job's daughter.
All these people and their motivations for being in Job's life could be discussed in length, but it would be frivolous as these people serve as nothing more than tools used to create a portrait of Jobs's character. At every turn he can Jobs is condescending, arrogant, spiteful and just downright mean. He constantly refers to himself as an artist and quotes the bible when speaking about himself. Before every launch he puts up pictures of great men , many of which have nothing to do with computing. This portrayal of Jobs's is very interesting in that the film always cuts before the launch. Each launch was televised in its time and can be seen. However, the film only shows what happens before each launch giving the audience a sense that we are watching Steve Jobs behind the camera. While in much of the film, Jobs's remains arrogant and condescending there are several scenes sprinkled in the film where his shell cracks and signs of a man who only wants the best for his daughter are evident. The film is merely a frame for its main character, a napoleonic figure who slowly gets off his high horse. Since the film only takes place at product launches, many of the scenes are interiors so for the film to work the scenes to work the cinematography has to make these places look living and vibrant. It accomplishes this with flying colors. The cinematography is stunning in making mundane places seem almost holy. These interiors almost seem to be the kingdom of Jobs. Places he wishes to rule over in an authoritarian manner, sharing the power with nobody, and the halls ringing with portraits of great men only add to that effect. Then, when we are left alone with Jobs the cinematography becomes very personal and shows a man who is beginning to crack under the facade he has created for himself.
Steve Jobs is something new and original in the way it tells its story, but it becomes trivial since the film has no other purpose than to show the man Steve Jobs was. Even if it takes large liberties in source material, it is a must-watch for anybody who is interested in men of power.