There’s been a plethora of Steve Jobs biopics since his unfortunate death. The good news is Michael Fassbender has taken over the duty of portraying the man that the world almost forgot, and Danny Boyle is at the helm as director. The bad news is there’s another Steve Jobs bio-pic coming out. Aptly titled Steve Jobs, the latest preview gives us hope that it could be a decent film. The best indication comes from the casting of Kate Winslet. When was the last time she agreed to a bad movie?
The film will go through the rise, fall, and return of the Apple king. What started in a garage as a pipe dream grows into massive success as Jobs navigates through what we learn to be a turbulent personal life of his own creation. Not only does he have a floundering business, but also a floundering family situation with a daughter he refuses to accept. The preview effectively manages to make Jobs look like an asshole, someone who can’t see past his ego. At one point Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogan) points out, “I’m the only one who knows that this guy is someone you invented.” This, this is what tells us it might be worth watching.
Previously, with Ashton Kutcher’s portrayal of Jobs in Jobs, we were stuck in one dimension. We may have been told about the problems the company ran into because of its founder, but we never explored why. Why does Jobs become his own worst enemy? Steve Jobs seems very close to telling that story, and it’s one that deserves recognition.
Just like Winslet, Boyle doesn’t generally make bad movies. The award winning Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, 28 Days Later, The Beach, and Trainspotting, are all part of a career of a director who tends to do right by his art. In addition we have Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men, The Newsroom, Social Network, Moneyball) writing the screenplay.
Logistically speaking, Steve Jobs could be phenomenal. So far, from what the previews have given us, it could be the same thing we’ve seen before, given a mighty fine facelift. However, if Boyle is to be trusted, the nuances will be revealed through the minor details and subtext, and that’s where we’ll find the story we’ve been craving.
Steve Jobs hits theaters October 23.
