JOBS
review by
ANIZ FILMVALA
*****
JOBS.
STORY.
The film opens in 2001 with Steve Jobs (Ashton Kutcher) introducing the iPod at an Apple Town Hall meeting. It then flashes back to Reed College in 1974. Jobs had already dropped out due to the high expense of tuition, but was still auditing classes with the approval of Dean Jack Dudman (James Woods) who took him under his wing.[7] Jobs is particularly invested in a course on calligraphy.[8] He meets up with his friend Daniel Kottke (Lukas Haas) who is excited to see that Jobs is holding a copy of Be Here Now by Baba Ram Dass. Influenced by this book and his experiences with LSD, Jobs and Kottke spend time in India.[9]
The film then moves forward to 1976 where Jobs is back in Los Altos, California living at home with his adoptive parents Paul (John Getz) and Clara (Lesley Ann Warren). He is working for Atari and develops a partnership with his childhood friend Steve Wozniak (Josh Gad) after he sees that Wozniak has built a personal computer (the Apple 1). They name their new company Apple Computer, though there already is a company called Apple Records that is owned by The Beatles (Wozniak then teases Jobs that this is symbolic of his preference for Bob Dylan). Wozniak gives a demonstration of the Apple 1 at the Homebrew Computer Club, where Jobs receives a contract with Paul Terrell (Brad William Henke). Jobs asks his mechanic/carpenter father Paul for permission to use the family garage (set up as a carpentry/tool center) for his new company. His father agrees and Jobs then adds Kottke, Bill Fernandez (Victor Rasuk), Bill Atkinson (Nelson Franklin), Chris Espinosa (Eddie Hassell), and later Rod Hold (Ron Eldard) to the Apple team to build Apple 1 computers.[10] Terrell is disappointed by what they produce which forces Jobs to seek capital elsewhere. After many failed attempts by Jobs to gain venture capital, Mike Markkula (Dermot Mulroney) invests in the company which allows them to move forward.
Jobs and Wozniak develop the Apple II and introduce it at the 1977 West Coast Computer Faire. The Apple II is a remarkable success and suddenly, the company (and Jobs) are very successful. Jobs thus begins to distance himself from old friends such as his housemates Kottke and his high school girlfriend Chris-Ann Brennan (Ahna O'Reilly) who tells him that she is pregnant with their child. Brennan eventually gives birth to Lisa Brennan-Jobs whom Jobs continues to deny is his daughter. He also brings in John Sculley (Matthew Modine) to become the CEO of the company. As his behavior becomes more erratic (for example firing an employee for not appreciating his investment in using fonts), Jobs is moved away from The Lisa to the Macintosh Group where he works with Bill Atkinson, Burrell Smith (Lenny Jacobson), Chris Espinosa, and Andy Hertzfeld (Elden Henson). He also forces the original team leader of the Macintosh group, Jef Raskin, out of it. Though the Macintosh is introduced with a great deal of fanfare in 1984, Jobs is forced out of the company by Sculley in 1985.
The film jumps forward to 1996. Jobs is married to Laurene Powell Jobs (Abby Brammell) and has accepted Lisa (Annika Bertea) as his daughter (she now lives with them). He has a son, Reed (Paul Baretto) and is also running the company NeXT which Apple decides to buy. He is asked by then CEO-Gil Amelio to return to Apple as a consultant. Jobs does so and eventually fires Amelio and Markkula (who did not support him when he was forced out of Apple 11 years prior) when he is named the new CEO. Jobs becomes interested in the work of Jonathan Ive (Giles Matthey) and works to reinvent Apple. The film ends with Jobs recording the dialogue for the Think Different commercial in 1997.
CRITIC VIEW.
Steve Jobs biopic acted by Ashton Kutcher is good, while watching you can get hooked and be attentive to his performance which can be one reason to recommend the movie.
Though the movie has been facing criticism world over by the media and watcher's.I did find some substance to be glued till the end.
Steve Jobs a American entrepreneur was charismatic and pioneer of the personal computer revolution in 80's to match him and personify his stature is not a ball game.
It's a lookalike casting which Director Joshua Michael Stern took care of but 'Jobs' does not enthuse or energize. Steve Jobs iconic personality was far to magnanimous to get it on silver screen is not a easy task.
Music by John Debney is competent, additional cast support by Josh Gad as Steve Wozniak, Dermot Mulroney as Mike Markkula [millionaire investor ] and Matthew Modine as John Sculley have given a memorable and fine performance.
CAST.
Directed by Joshua Michael Stern
Produced by Mark Hulme
Written by Matt Whiteley
Starring Ashton Kutcher,Dermot Mulroney,Josh Gad,Lukas Haas,J. K. Simmons,Lesley Ann Warren,Ron Eldard,Ahna O'Reilly,John Getz,James Woods,Matthew Modine
Music by John Debney
Cinematography Russell Carpenter (U.S.),Aseem Bajaj (India)
Editing by Robert Komatsu
Studio Endgame Entertainment Five Star Feature Films
Distributed by Open Road Films (United States) Entertainment One (Canada)
