Film Review: Steve Jobs: The Man In The Machine (2015)

Alex Gibney’s newest documentary is an interesting look at the life of Apple founder Steve Jobs’ professional and private life. From the first time Jobs used a computer at age 12 to his friendship and early work with Steve Wozniak right through his work with Atari, we are given a good understanding of what brought Jobs to founding Apple. Then the documentary thoroughly covers the ups and downs of Apple, NeXT, then Apple again as we are given a look at the positive and negative aspects of Jobs’ business and interpersonal relationships.

Steve Jobs: The Man In The Machine is a dense documentary with a well-balanced point of view. For all the negative material Gibney gives us, he still manages to temper it with positive information that gives this well-crafted documentary a refreshingly impartial view to a degree.

The bulk of Steve Jobs: The Man In The Machine is made up of archival interviews, news clips and talking heads, but it never loses the viewers’ interest as the career path Jobs took was certainly a compelling one. Alex Gibney is known for his high-profile documentaries such as Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room and last years Going Clear: Scientology And The Prison Of Belief, and I believe that this new film will be just as highly regarded as the rest of his work.

Steve Jobs: The Man In The Machine opens at the Avon Cinema on Friday, October 16 and I recommend that people who love a good documentary or are fans of Apple products (especially those planning to see Danny Boyles’ new biopic next week) make time to check this film out.

Steve Jobs: The Man In The Machine (2015); Director: Alex Gibney; Featuring: Steve Jobs