Conducting the Orchestra

Rating: 7/10 (5 November 2015)

Greetings again from the darkness. Does it take the smartest guy in the room to write about the smartest guy in the room? Probably not, but as Aaron Sorkin shows in writing about Steve Jobs, it can't hurt. It's an impressive filmmaking team that, in addition to Sorkin, includes director Danny Boyle, and a cast of Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Jeff Daniels, Michael Stuhlbarg, Katherine Waterston, Seth Rogen, John Ortiz and Perla Haney-Jardine  that's a lot of talent, prestige, and award-winners.
The film is based on the terrific authorized biography written by Walter Isaacson. Rather than tackle the entirety of the book or Jobs' life, a theatrical approach is taken with three distinct acts covering 16 years centered on product roll-outs: Macintosh, 1984; NeXT, 1988; and iMac, 1998. You might notice that two of those products are considered major flops, but the focus is on the actions of Jobs, not the performance of the products. Director Boyle makes his presence felt by filming appropriately in each of the segments: 16mm for 1984, 35mm for 1988, and digital for 1998. He also brings a sweeping beauty to the visuals  whether it's Jobs storming through a hallway, or the maze of activity backstage at each roll-out.
While it's humorous to witness the cult-like atmosphere that develops around Apple products, it's equally comical to see the small-minded types who refuse to credit Jobs or Apple for catapulting consumer technology ahead by decades, and achieving levels of financial success never before reached. Although it's difficult to separate Jobs from Apple, Sorkin and Boyle are very clear in their focus on the man. In fact, the movie could be viewed as a kind of dysfunctional family – both genetic family and work family.
Rogen plays Steve Wozniak and Stuhlbarg plays Andy Hertzfeld, both part of the original Apple team with Jobs. There are some pointed exchanges between these three characters, with the most eye-raising being when Woz asks Jobs, "What do you do?" It's the best display of what makes Jobs different than others, and his answer is one of the most disheartening compliments ever heard. There are multiple extended sequences with Jobs and his quasi-father figure John Sculley (Jeff Daniels). These two rip through Sorkin dialogue the way Michael Jordan once sliced through defenses. Most cruel are the exchanges between Jobs and Chrisann Brennan (Ms. Waterston) – the mother of his daughter Lisa (though he refused to acknowledge being her father).
For those familiar with the role of Joanna Hoffman in Jobs' career, you will be duly impressed with the performance of Kate Winslet  playing the only one who could consistently stand up to the relentless pressure and lofty expectations.
There are soft references to iPods and iPads, and Jobs' break-up with Apple is dramatized, but it's the individual scenes of interaction with others that makes this entertaining and challenging to watch. There is nothing likable about Steve Jobs the man, but Fassbender's performance does allow glimpses of humanity beneath the God-like aura Jobs presented. Was Jobs a genius? Was he an extreme social misfit? Was he a cruel family man due to his botched adoption as a kid? Regardless of where you place him in the realm of technology development, it's difficult to argue with Woz's proclamation that one can be "decent AND gifted". It's not binary.