In making this new biopic about Apple founder Steve Jobs, writer/director Joshua Michael Stern (“Swing Vote,” “Neverwas”) had to deal with all the dangers inherent to the form. These are the same dangers facing anyone writing about the film. Was Jobs a visionary? A perfectionist? An egomaniacal control freak? A realist? Back in the 1940s, another visionary/control freak named Orson Welles dealt with these problems in “Citizen Kane” by presenting multiple POVs; David Fincher used a little of that strategy for “The Social Network,” his 2010 movie about Facebook magnate Mark Zuckerberg.
Rather than multiple POVs, Stern spins his version of Jobs' career from a single omniscient perspective. Much like a political candidate trying to be that elusive, even imaginary, creature called a “centrist,” Stern has cooked a number of legends and facts about Jobs into an enjoyable stew with very little spice. This compromise recipe will likely draw the same reaction from the Apple founder's fans and detractors — both sides either loving it or hating it in tandem.
