Unsatisfying Convulted Mish-Mash of Melodrama Overshadows Jobs' Accomplishments

Rating: 4/10 (25 October 2015)

Very little about this film sheds light on who Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender) really was, except as a self-centered egomaniac who has neither the time nor the inclination to treat either his family or his colleagues with any degree of respect or humanity. The screenplay by Aaron Sorkin (of West Wing fame) in one of his weaker efforts centers mostly and endlessly on confrontations with the people throughout Jobs' life, including among others, his estranged former girlfriend Chrisann Brennan (Katherine Waterston), his daughter Lisa Brennan-Jobs (Makenzie Moss, Ripley Sobo, Perla Haney-Jardine), Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogen), former Apple CEO, John Sculley (Jeff Daniels), and long-time associate and confidante Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet). With every confrontation, Jobs, who was by all accounts enigmatic already, is yet more veiled, the drive behind Jobs less understood while the socially inept version is shown in spades. If I had questions about Jobs before the lights dimmed and the curtain raised, most weren't answered while others were brought to light by the time the curtain was drawn.
The film is divided into three acts, each at a computer convention launch of a new product. During the few minutes prior to his entrance onto the stage like a rock star to present his new computer product as a one-man soliloquy the audience has been awaiting anxiously for all day, Jobs engages in long and melodramatic discussions with many people in his inner circle: his former girlfriend Chrisann Brennan who gave birth to a daughter, Lisa, Steve Wozniak, John Scully, Joanna Hoffman, and others. Each episode is long and overdrawn, much like a soap opera where the screenwriters didn't know when to quit and kept adding more material. There are some flashbacks to important events, such as when Jobs "courts" John Scully into leaving Pepsi and working at Apple, and when the board decides to "fire" Jobs. Those scenes I wanted to see better developed with less about the fiery Jobs arguing with people in his private life.
The first act involves Jobs at the launch of his new computer, the Macintosh, at the Flint Centre in De Anza Community College. Only minutes before the presentation at the stage, the techs working on the computer have a problem: they're not sure if the Mac can say "hello". Jobs infuriated in true style berates their inabilities, particularly that of Andy Hertzfeld, but he refuses to postpone the launch a few minutes while the techs fix the problem. I have no issue with showing Jobs at his most confrontational which can be an effective window into his character, although even this initial tirade went on far too long. He rants and raves, then rants more, and it never seems to end. Every time Hertzfeld offers a solution, Jobs rejects it. After several back-and-forths, I understood; I didn't need it piled on.
Then he leaves the stage and wanders into his dressing room with only a half-hour before the launch speech. He's followed there by his long-time associate Joanna Hoffman. Eventually his former girlfriend Chrisann Brennan with their daughter Lisa enter the room and the film for the first time, which won't be the last. Once inside, Brennan lays into Jobs for being essentially a dead-beat dad, but Jobs refuses to acknowledge Lisa as their daughter. The problem I had with this sequence was my inability to believe the entire situation. Why would Jobs' former girlfriend confront him about possible alimony payments only minutes before perhaps the most important presentation of Jobs' career? Wouldn't this have happened in a bit more quiet and secluded setting, like an office or house? And why would Jobs let this confrontation occur in the first place while he's preparing to change the world of personal computing? And the ranting and raving goes on and on and on, with no breath or space. When Jobs finally goes on-stage, the scene fades and next we hear television and newspaper reports regarding how Jobs was ousted from Apple.
This is essentially how the entire film continues. Every "act" is a different product launching with people in Jobs' circle either berating him or trying to get him to see things in a different light. In the first act it was Brennan. In the second act John Scully has his turn and confronts Jobs about his new computer experiment, "Next", and they begin arguing about Jobs' ouster from Apple. And again, Jobs and Scully spare each other verbally, taking and offering jabs, trying to one-up the other. In the final sequence, Hoffman and an older Lisa get into the act and spare with him yet again. There are occasional flashbacks to other moments of Jobs' life, but many of those I wanted to see developed whereas the ranting and raving became old and repetitive. The one aspect I enjoyed the most was the relationship between Jobs and Hoffman who seems the only one who both understands him and willing to stand up to him despite she's essentially one of his underlings.
Aaron Sorkin has made a career of lean writing in the political realm, particularly for "A Few Good Men" and "The West Wing". However, here Sorkin's abilities to create well-timed finite confrontations are put to the side in favor of melodrama. In the "The West Wing" confrontational scenes were never too long, and they never felt like melodrama. However, if melodrama was the device used to reveal the muddier sides of Jobs' character, it certainly succeeded, giving the impression that it's a minor miracle Jobs received any backing at all from techs and investors. The film spent so much time on Jobs' character flaws and very little on his innovative sides, the sides which demonstrated Jobs' genius for creating tantalizing products. I liken this film somewhat to "Iron Lady" about British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher which emphasized her dementia and deemphasized her rise in politics. Here, we saw Jobs, the insufferable egomaniac but little of Jobs the innovator, the creator and the visionary.