Smartly directed biopic of an enigmatic character

Rating: 7/10 (24 March 2016)

Danny Boyle and Aaron Sorkin are on top-form in this storied biography of the Apple co-founder. The film is interestingly split into three acts- a brave and ultimately successful device from Boyle- while Michael Fassbender is flawless as the titular character, resulting in a thoroughly entertaining fare.
The film doesn't pull many punches on Jobs, and his denial of paternity is the spine that runs through the film. It plays out behind the scenes of three product launches – the original Apple Macintosh in 1984, the NeXT Computer four years later and the final act of the iMac launch in 1998. Steve Jobs shares many themes with Sorkin's The Social Network as both are stories of technological geeks who find success and become lost in their creation.
The dialogue is witty and memorable as Jobs paints himself to be the composer. When estranged Apple co-founder Wozniak asks him to define what he actually does as he can't write code or put together circuit-boards, Fassbender delivers a thought-provoking line: "The musicians play their instruments, I play the orchestra." Though Kate Winslet's accent starts globe-trotting at times and the amount of walking-and-talking in scenes can start to get under the skin a little, the film is eminently enjoyable. Though it has failed in the box office, I hope Steve Jobs finds its audience in time.