Steve Jobs film: Michael Fassbender tipped for an Oscar
Fassbender dazzles critics in 'thrilling' Jobs biopic premiere – but is it just for Apple fetishists?
Michael Fassbender has set out his stall for a best actor Oscar as the new Steve Jobs biopic received its world premiere at Telluride Festival in the US.
Audiences were shown an early cut of the film, directed by Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) from a script by Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network). The final cut is expected to premiere at the New York Film Festival in October, reports the BBC.
The film, simply titled Steve Jobs, co-stars Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen and Jeff Daniels. It spans a 14-year period in Jobs's life between 1984 and 1998, focused around three seminal Apple product launches – the Apple Macintosh, the NeXT "Cube" and the iMac – while revealing Job's obsessive nature and his struggle for control of the Apple company.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Fassbender has received rave reviews for his performance.
"He completely owns the screen," says Kristopher Tapley in Variety, despite his character being "very unlikeable throughout" the film. Sorkin also attracts praise for doing a "marvelous job of picking the right moments of this particular span of time and conveying them with smart and casual ease".
The film is "propulsively fast, fleet and inquisitive", says Todd McCarthy in the Hollywood Reporter, with heartbeat pacing and quasi-verite style that provides "a constant dramatic hum and you-are-there immediacy". The actors are "uniformly superb", and Fassbender "nails" the part despite his lack of visual similarity with the Apple CEO.
For Pete Hammond in Deadline Hollywood, Fassbender's perfomance is "dazzling" and the film itself is "an action movie driven almost exclusively by words".
But The Guardian's Ben Lee sounds a rare note of criticism. While he admits that there is "undeniable craftsmanship" in Fassbender's "confident and transformative performance", the film itself is "aimed at the die-hard iPhone fetishists".
Sorkin's signature breakneck pace, frantic walk-and-talks and comfortably smug one-liners are "almost overwhelming" here, and while the film constantly informs you of just how incredibly important everything is, Lee found it "difficult to truly care about what's taking place".
If you're the sort of person who spent hours queuing up for the latest iPhone, "this might prove masturbatory", he says. But everyone else will remain a PC, and proudly so.
Steve Jobs will close the London Film Festival on 18 October.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'It may not be surprising that creative work is used without permission'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
5 simple items to help make your airplane seat more comfortable
The Week Recommends Gel cushions and inflatable travel pillows make a world of difference
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
How safe are cruise ships in storms?
The Explainer The vessels are always prepared
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
The Count of Monte Cristo review: 'indecently spectacular' adaptation
The Week Recommends Dumas's classic 19th-century novel is once again given new life in this 'fast-moving' film
By The Week UK Published
-
Death of England: Closing Time review – 'bold, brash reflection on racism'
The Week Recommends The final part of this trilogy deftly explores rising political tensions across the country
By The Week UK Published
-
Sing Sing review: prison drama bursts with 'charm, energy and optimism'
The Week Recommends Colman Domingo plays a real-life prisoner in a performance likely to be an Oscars shoo-in
By The Week UK Published
-
Kaos review: comic retelling of Greek mythology starring Jeff Goldblum
The Week Recommends The new series captures audiences as it 'never takes itself too seriously'
By The Week UK Published
-
Blink Twice review: a 'stylish and savage' black comedy thriller
The Week Recommends Channing Tatum and Naomi Ackie stun in this film on the hedonistic rich directed by Zoë Kravitz
By The Week UK Published
-
Shifters review: 'beautiful' new romantic comedy offers 'bittersweet tenderness'
The Week Recommends The 'inventive, emotionally astute writing' leaves audiences gripped throughout
By The Week UK Published
-
How to do F1: British Grand Prix 2025
The Week Recommends One of the biggest events of the motorsports calendar is back and better than ever
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Twisters review: 'warm-blooded' film explores dangerous weather
The Week Recommends The film, focusing on 'tornado wranglers', stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell
By The Week UK Published