Jobs

'Jobs' tells the story of Steve Jobs, the founder of the Apple computer company from his days at university in the early 1970s through to his founding of the company, his ousting by the board and eventual return in the late 1990s. Ashton Kutcher plays the iconic technical and design visionary.

Steve Jobs was revered by many as indicated by the outpouring of distress at his untimely death but if this film is even only half way accurate the man himself was a rather difficult and at times unpleasant individual. Driven by a combination of his dreams and ambitions Jobs used and abused the talents of others. That in itself is not so unusual in the stories of successful individuals but the lack of empathy for those discarded is represented as having been particularly brutal.

I think Kutcher does a reasonable job in his portrayal, given his limited acting credentials from the evidence of his earlier work. I assume his simian manner of walking deliberately reflects Jobs' actual style; if not it certainly looks odd at times.

As a relatively recent convert to Apple products I found the film to be of some interest but it probably has greatest impact on the real aficionados who are more familiar with the subject matter and the peripheral characters.

★★★