Commence Oscar Season 2015

Rating: 7/10 (16 November 2015)

Ah what a wonderful time of year for cinephiles. Just enough chill in the air to justify spending all day in a theater. Bonus, the movies themselves begin to get more intriguing. Enter an Oscar quality biopic. Steve Jobs is a culmination of atypical decisions distancing itself from more standard biographies. This makes Steve Jobs difficult to evaluate, but the trick is determining if this movie is furthered by its oddness or hampered.
The Sorkin dialogue is felt in every moment of Steve Jobs. The language entangles itself with every aspect of the movie and dictates all decisions. Background: Sorkin has established himself as a writer auteur through his work in television. His style is omnipresent. Characters spend more time in three way conversations than they do silent. I cannot verify this fact, but I am willing to wager that the words spoken per minute in this film almost double any movie. This exceptional cast handled their verbose rolls seemingly effortlessly, but I doubt they had any free space to act. When Michael Fassbender is inevitably nominated we can debate how much credit Sorkin deserves. Yet, when Fassbender loses, the clever will wonder that with this oppressive dialogue did he ever have a chance. The uncharacteristic narrative structure is also a result of the dialogue. The film is clearly divided into three acts, the moments before product releases in Jobs' career. The cast of supporting characters are paraded to Jobs, contribute their two cents, and disappear until the next act. I honestly enjoyed every single performance. The sections virtually keep to real time. The years between each act are addressed in conversations. This creates a fascinating structure for a biopic, where the adage better to show than to discuss is completely done away with. These characters have more to say in retrospect and their individual perspectives energize each row. The approach is brilliant, but I am unconvinced it is appropriate.
I do not believe that Steve Jobs is a great movie because the importance of the subject is somehow lost. I was left wondering why this man mattered as much as we gave him credit for or if somehow I was supposed to think this character was redeemed. I am disappointed that I cannot wholly love a movie so distinct, but one must always yield to the bigger picture. There is a place for Sorkin in the film world, but here he is carried by the energy of the director and cast. Maybe Sorkin would be better suited for material that is denser with higher stakes. I eagerly await his next attempt. Steve Jobs is worthy of an Oscar nomination, but lacks a unifying vitality necessary to win.