Steve Jobs

Sorkin and Boyle are like left and right hands that have long since been stitched to a body to create a Frankensteinian monster that fundamentally vindicates the argument that wisdom and beauty cannot be in permanent opposition. Which, by the way, I have been proving with my own existence for some time now. The seemingly theatrical three-act plot, with its relentless deadlines stomped out by unkempt hamsters who can't wait to find out what useless, unmodifiable junk they'll let themselves get fleeced by Mac for this year, is instead a constant reminder that we're watching a movie. And not just with the fairly unnecessary format changes over the years, but above all Boyle-style editing or minimal repetition of shots. On the contrary, the characters are constantly moving and interacting with their surroundings. Themes are carried over from location to location. The characters' exalted dialogues are interspersed with those of the same characters in flashbacks, achieving, among other things, a double continuous gradation of the same theme (and the cynic may already be thinking Sorkin is overdoing it here). What’s more, when compared to Zuckerberg, for whom the screenwriter had rather a soft spot, given his zero-to-hero development in the world of the privileged, there seeps an undeniable contempt for the narcissistic sociopath who has won a grand mastery of promoting mediocrity through mere form. And with biopics, which mostly suffer from Stockholm Syndrome, that automatically warms the cockles. (07/03/2016)

A couple of years ago we had Jobs starring Ashton Kutcher, so Danny Boyle had to bet on other certainties besides the theme, and in my opinion that was mainly the well-chosen cast. Michael Fassbender gives a truly above-average convincing performance in the lead role, while his second Kate Winslet only confirms her strong acting qualities, of which we have been aware for two decades. The first half is rather slower and less intense, but in the second half everything starts to build up and the highlights are the heated dialogues between Fassbender, Winslet and Jeff Daniels. In short, it's more of a conversational drama revealing more facts around the myth of Steve Jobs. (01/02/2016)

I'm not an Apple freak and I don't even care much about their products. I don't know what gadgets, apps, or features they have, but I know a lot about Steve. Who doesn't? There are too many of these movies. But if you want to see one, see this one. Except for the ending, which didn't work for me, it's probably the best Jobs movie I've seen. Danny Boyle is still a class act. (29/01/2016)

An excellent Boyle, and even better Fassbender and the best Aaron Sorkin. A gripping barrage of dialogue from the life of a mega-successful, unscrupulous bastard that, despite its rather violently closed-minded frame of mind, stylishly represents Hollywood's ability to tell stories of great people and their personal destinies. The plot is clear even for a complete layperson, well edited and covering fifteen years of Jobs's life and career with great clarity. However, its cold academic verbosity made me tired at times, and if it weren't for all the excellent actors, it would have been hard to buy into the one-sided emotional ending. That said, still a delectable, smart and believable conversational drama, fulfilling at the same time the function of a great narrative film. (30/01/2016)

Aaron Sorkin's vividly deft dialogue passages are great, as are the minimum of showy gestures and the absence of unnecessary overload of pathetic emotions in a story about a brilliant man who worked with them like a god and expressed them very sporadically (or sophistically). However, the subliminal wisecracks and subtle business hints in this "live" staged story are monstrously spoiled by the fact that there's terribly little of the broader story, and virtually nothing much going on. If this were a 10-minute cut from the trailer for the first Mac, the narrative value would be quite similar and the experience even more intense than watching a similar variation for 122 minutes. (15/11/2015)