Gordon & Barbara in Paris

Gordon & Barbara in Paris
Here's Looking at YOU

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs--Directed by Danny Boyle/ Starring Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Jeff Daniels/written by Aaron Sorkin/121 min/rated R

Bifocal Reviews by Ageless1der Barbara Rich & The Other Guy

(BR): Technology is not my first choice for movie material. In spite of that, I was thoroughly drawn into this film because of the performances that expressed how important a human characteristic it is to have creative vision. For, as a story or as a biography, what we learn from Steve Jobs is it really wasn’t so much about the technology that made him a legend…It was that he took his visions—which were all about making products that people both needed and wanted--and made them realities. Fassbender’s performance was compelling. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him and he was in almost every scene. All the other performances also complemented Fassbender’s. Kate Winslet was almost unrecognizable in the early part of the film, but her acting ability was unmistakable…as were all the costars. They were so good, in fact, that they actually enhanced Fassbender’s otherwise flawless performance. I’m hoping more people will see this movie, in spite of the fact that an earlier film about Steve Jobs is being confused with this release. This is a must see film, I believe, even though I too was not certain this film would be to my liking. I’m so glad I could enjoy this film without having to deal with floppy disks, bits, bytes or other jargon. I give Steve Jobs four and a half binoculars out of five.

(OG): Initially, I wasn’t sure why I loved this movie so much. First of all, the script violates the basic belief that “movies should move.”  Not that much really happens, as most of the “action” takes place backstage at various product launches. That is the genius, perhaps, of the Aaron Sorkin style of writing (A Few Good Men, West Wing, Newsroom for example). His dialogue is so compelling and the emotional energy so high (thanks to the great delivery of the actors) that while there are no car crashes, explosions or fist-fights, the action never seems to stop. Fassbender was absolutely PERFECT in his portrayal of Steve Jobs. If he ends up doing a one-man stage performance for the rest of his life (such as with Hal Holbrook’s Mark Twain) audiences will likely have the same response. They will at some point start to identify the actor with the character he’s portraying. It was that good. I had some personal experience with the original Mac, when I was commissioned by Apple Corporation, in the early 80s to write a book “in the spirit of the new computer” which explained the new world of communications and especially word processing. That book, called Vision-Revision (www.vision-revision.pbwiki.com) has become a free, online education website which now is expanded to include many new tools (videos and other website links) which were not even available when the Mac was first conceived. So, what I guess I’m trying to say is, I may have been influenced by a nostalgic association to the subject matter…but the movie is genius, just like the subject matter. I’m giving this one a five.