Review of Steve Jobs (2015) by Gabriel A — 05 Feb 2016

Considering last month featured The Revenant, The Hateful Eight and Spotlight, this quasi-biographical picture has snuck up out of nowhere to claim my first five-star rating of 2016. It shouldn't necessarily come as a surprise when you take into account the talent involved.

From Aaron Sorkin penning the script, to Danny Boyle helming and Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet starring, the standing of cast and crew is firmly at genius level. Already bagging himself a Golden Globe, Sorkin's screenplay is as whippy, quippy and engaging as his very best work; his dialogue as clever as ever but with the snark and pretension dialled down in order to explore the psyche and emotional drive of a very complex human being.

With each act following Jobs backstage before pivotal tech launches - Macintosh in 1984, the NeXT computer in 1988, and finally the iMac in 1998 - it seems on paper that Boyle doesn't have much to do except point his camera and let his all-star cast go to work.

Yet much like Fincher was the perfect director to bring Sorkin's story of Zuckerberg to life, so too is Boyle ideal to flesh out this dramatically complicated tale on screen, employing all manner of techniques to build tension, plumb emotional depths and create a truly immersive experience.

If it wasn't Leo's year, Fassbender would surely be frontrunner for the Oscar, delivering a powerhouse portrayal of a man whose towering brilliance was matched only by his enormous ego and ultra-difficult personality.

If Jobs is the brains and attitude of the film then Joanna Hoffman - his long-time assistant both in profession and in life - is its beating heart. And in the capable hands of Winslet, Hoffman is a fiercely intelligent confidante that proves the saying that behind every great man is an even greater woman.

Steve Jobs is an invigorating and engrossing peek inside the life of a unique and controversial figure in the tech industry, and already rates as one of 2016's greatest movies.