Monday, March 21, 2016

Steve Jobs [2015] review

Fassbender, Winslet, Rogen, Daniels, Stuhlbarg, Waterston - all did an excellent job.  I truly felt I was watching a documentary on the characters that they each represented and not the actor him/herself.  The movie is constructed as a play, in a way, with three acts, all taking place before an unveiling of a new product, but as a viewer, I didn't know that until the movie was over.  With that said, when the movie was building up towards the first presentation and then it cut away to sum up the events and time jump, I felt robbed as a viewer. 

When I found myself at the "NeXT" presentation (pun intended), I was semi waiting for the same thing to happen again and I don't know how invested I could get because I didn't want to feel robbed again so I put up a wall.  Thankfully, the plot knocked it down as it focused on the aftermath of Jobs termination and the anger he still felt about it.  Coupled with the events of his personal life with his estranged daughter, and the fact that Jobs himself was adopted as a baby, I did feel sorry for him, but at the same time I kind of hated him and it appeared that everyone in his life at the time did too so the viewer was on the same page with the supporting cast against the main actor so props to Boyle and Sorkin for a job well done. 

After a strong second act, I had renewed hopes for the end of the movie and while I enjoyed parts of it, it just kind of ended.  Maybe I craved more.  Maybe I wanted a fourth or fifth act.  I'm not sure.

In the end, I don't know what I expected or wanted from this movie.  I'm glad it wasn't like Justin Long's portrayal in "iSteve" and I have yet to see Ashton Kutcher's performance in the 2013 movie "Jobs" and at this point I don't know if I will, but I guess I wanted to be entertained as I do with every movie I see and I was for the most part.  I suppose I was left with wanting more and I didn't feel fully satisfied.