An interesting figure of modern technology, Steve Jobs has not only been a catalyst for what is possible in the world of the tech industry, but has also led a life as entertaining as the gadgets he has been responsible for putting in our hands (and the computer I am currently typing this on). Bearing this in mind, it is no wonder the famed creator has been the subject of multiple film interpretations. Aaron Sorkin’s script for Danny Boyle‘s 2015 film “Steve Jobs” offers a take on the inventor that is complex, but hinges on the performance and interpretation of the titular character from Michael Fassbender and his interactions with the very real characters around him.
Jack’s Movie Reviews explores what’s been described as “an action movie with words.” Sorkin’s writing is quick and precise; his words and actions from the screenplay mold into interactions between five key characters. With the film structured in three separate but intertwined acts that focus on these interactions, characters appearances change but the most notable transformation comes from a scene where Andy, played by Michael Stuhlbarg, confronts Steve about Steve’s daughter. Steve’s daughter, played in succession by Mackenzie Moss, Ripley Sobo, and Perla Haney-Jardine, is performed in a way that Michael Fassbender’s Jobs sees her as special and, therefore, cares for her. This care, however, is brought into question with the scene the video essay leads up to analyze.
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Laden with symbols and engaging oddly specific modes of mise-en-scène, each point the video essay builds upon — character interactions, editing, dialogue, etc. — comes to an arrowhead’s point in this specific scene. The video essay continues to discuss how this one scene affects the latter half of the film and eventually displays a very human quality of a man who isn’t always great with human connection. [Film School Rejects]