Steve Jobs: An Aaron Sorkin Classic

Film discussed: Steve Jobs (2015)

Also mentioned: Facebook (2010)

Writer Aaron Sorkin does with words what John Williams does with music: he adds something magic to a film. The result is that films which might have just been okay become real works of art. So is the case with Steve Jobs.

Of course, it's not just the writing that makes the film good. Steve Jobs has a great cast: Michael Fassbender is the brilliant but bullheaded Jobs, Seth Rogan is the computer whiz Steve Wozniak, and Kate Winslet is the principled marketer Joanna Hoffman. Director Danny Boyle has drawn high accolades from Slumdog Millionaire.

However, Steve Jobs has something that so many films are lacking this day. Good writing. The central concept here is dialogue and ideas. This is a rare film that does not need a car chase or explosions to keep the attention of its audience. Words drive the pulse of this film. One can feel the tension in the heated exchange between Jobs and Wozniak over the future of Apple or the board room showdown between Jobs and CEO John Sculley (Jeff Daniels).

Some might be tempted to make a comparison to another great film about a technology giant. The Social Network is also a writing masterpiece. You are not mistaken by the similarities between these films. They are both written by Aaron Sorkin. A key feature of these films is Sorkin's ability to throw the viewer into the thick of the issue. There are no long-winded introductions. The audience isn't coddled; rather, Sorkin assumes the audience is highly intelligent and cuts to the chase.

The opening scene of Steve Jobs is set at the Mac launch in 1984. Moments before the galley doors open, Mr. Jobs needs the computer to say "hello." If the computer will not say "hello" during the impending demonstration, Jobs threatens to publicly humiliate the engineer Andy Hertzfeld (Michael Stuhlbarg). In the first minutes of the film, we already glean important character information. Perhaps the highest comment on the quality of Sorkin's work is that Michael Fassbender does not have to look like Steve Jobs. We believe he is Steve Jobs because of the words that come out of his mouth.

Back to the top of the page