August 30, 2023
FILM: BLACKBERRY
DIRECTED BY: MATT JOHNSON
STARRING: JAY BARUCHEL, GLENN HOWERTON, MATT JOHNSON
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
There have been plenty of mini-series lately that have spread out the stories of major company CEO’s (We Crashed, The Dropout, etc.) and their eventual downfalls. What makes BlackBerry an even greater success is that it manages to tell the entire story of the rise and fall of the heads of Research in Motion, which originally created the handheld Blackberry, in a high energy two-hour and very satisfying film.
I’m sure you might remember the BlackBerry (if you’re over the age of 30.) It was the new handheld phone of the 2000s that included a keyboard on its screen. People who were “in” and ready for the 21st Century had one and boasted about it to no end. That is, until Apple developed the IPhone…
Matt Johnson wrote, directed, and stars in the film as Doug Fregin, one of the founders of Canadian company Research in Motion. He and his best friend Mike Lazaridis, played by Jay Baruchel, work in a small cluttered office in 1996 with a bunch of other tech geeks who love video games and movie nights. Their idea for the BlackBerry (as it later became called) attracts the attention of a major executive, Jim Balsillie, who has recently been fired from a high-level corporate position. Balsillie is a hot-headed Harvard graduate who attempts to whip the guys into shape with his much more corporate minded and hard hitting approach. Essentially Balsillie and Mike attempt to do the impossible as co-CEO’s making promises and a few shady deals. It works for the company for a while as Blackberry, at its peak, garners 45% of the cellphone market. When Apple announces the IPhone though it sends the company scrambling for enhancements to their latest product and the company itself in order to remain relevant in the rapidly changing consumer electronics industry.
The fast-paced style of the early scenes makes the film feel a bit like a more high-powered version of The Office. Cameras are handheld as they swiftly move between characters. There’s also some archival footage of the era that makes the first act feel more like a documentary than a fictional retelling of the real events that took place at the time. There are stretches of humor as the bumbling tech geeks slowly are awakened to what is happening around them. The film then begins to feel more like a serious drama with some major stakes for all involved. The most obvious comparison here would be to Oliver Stone’s 1988 film Wall Street which is referenced to more than once.
The connections to other movies are prominent throughout the film as characters mention the fantasy worlds of Star Wars and Dune but later transition to the darker reality created within the narratives of Wall Street and Glengarry Glenn Ross. It’s as if the children behind those computers must now become men fighting it out in a corporate arena that they can’t escape from unless they are fired. They deal with systems crashing and trying to make the BlackBerry a sexy, must-have product. Along the way, the friendship between Mike and Doug is severely tested as Mike becomes his own version of Jim Balsillie while Doug remains scraggily dressed and more socially centered.
Everything about the world built for this film works. The era it focuses on, 1996-2008, is very well-detailed from the computers to the cars to the clothes worn by the characters. But it is also Johnson’s script that so finely details the time and its obsession with greater technological devices and increasing wealth. The dialogue is snappy and hard-hitting, especially when spoken by some of these great actors. Jay Baruchel perfectly builds Mike’s slow transition to the corporate downside. The insecure Mike becomes a snake like Jim. Glenn Howerton gives a towering and Oscar-worthy performance as Jim. He barks and bites like no one else. His use of his eyes to establish his sense of power is also menacingly well-created.
Ultimately credit has to be given to Matt Johnson who manages to bring his script to life in a forceful, enlightening, and dynamic manner. He’s also quite good as Doug with some well-played confrontation scenes with Jim and Mike.
This is a disturbing, funny, and very relevant film which reflects back on the not too distant past and our attempts at pushing human limits to progress towards an uncertain technological future.
BlackBerry is being re-released this week at Landmark’s Glen Theatre in Glenview. It is also available as a rental on Amazon Prime.
FILM: BLACKBERRY
DIRECTED BY: MATT JOHNSON
STARRING: JAY BARUCHEL, GLENN HOWERTON, MATT JOHNSON
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
There have been plenty of mini-series lately that have spread out the stories of major company CEO’s (We Crashed, The Dropout, etc.) and their eventual downfalls. What makes BlackBerry an even greater success is that it manages to tell the entire story of the rise and fall of the heads of Research in Motion, which originally created the handheld Blackberry, in a high energy two-hour and very satisfying film.
I’m sure you might remember the BlackBerry (if you’re over the age of 30.) It was the new handheld phone of the 2000s that included a keyboard on its screen. People who were “in” and ready for the 21st Century had one and boasted about it to no end. That is, until Apple developed the IPhone…
Matt Johnson wrote, directed, and stars in the film as Doug Fregin, one of the founders of Canadian company Research in Motion. He and his best friend Mike Lazaridis, played by Jay Baruchel, work in a small cluttered office in 1996 with a bunch of other tech geeks who love video games and movie nights. Their idea for the BlackBerry (as it later became called) attracts the attention of a major executive, Jim Balsillie, who has recently been fired from a high-level corporate position. Balsillie is a hot-headed Harvard graduate who attempts to whip the guys into shape with his much more corporate minded and hard hitting approach. Essentially Balsillie and Mike attempt to do the impossible as co-CEO’s making promises and a few shady deals. It works for the company for a while as Blackberry, at its peak, garners 45% of the cellphone market. When Apple announces the IPhone though it sends the company scrambling for enhancements to their latest product and the company itself in order to remain relevant in the rapidly changing consumer electronics industry.
The fast-paced style of the early scenes makes the film feel a bit like a more high-powered version of The Office. Cameras are handheld as they swiftly move between characters. There’s also some archival footage of the era that makes the first act feel more like a documentary than a fictional retelling of the real events that took place at the time. There are stretches of humor as the bumbling tech geeks slowly are awakened to what is happening around them. The film then begins to feel more like a serious drama with some major stakes for all involved. The most obvious comparison here would be to Oliver Stone’s 1988 film Wall Street which is referenced to more than once.
The connections to other movies are prominent throughout the film as characters mention the fantasy worlds of Star Wars and Dune but later transition to the darker reality created within the narratives of Wall Street and Glengarry Glenn Ross. It’s as if the children behind those computers must now become men fighting it out in a corporate arena that they can’t escape from unless they are fired. They deal with systems crashing and trying to make the BlackBerry a sexy, must-have product. Along the way, the friendship between Mike and Doug is severely tested as Mike becomes his own version of Jim Balsillie while Doug remains scraggily dressed and more socially centered.
Everything about the world built for this film works. The era it focuses on, 1996-2008, is very well-detailed from the computers to the cars to the clothes worn by the characters. But it is also Johnson’s script that so finely details the time and its obsession with greater technological devices and increasing wealth. The dialogue is snappy and hard-hitting, especially when spoken by some of these great actors. Jay Baruchel perfectly builds Mike’s slow transition to the corporate downside. The insecure Mike becomes a snake like Jim. Glenn Howerton gives a towering and Oscar-worthy performance as Jim. He barks and bites like no one else. His use of his eyes to establish his sense of power is also menacingly well-created.
Ultimately credit has to be given to Matt Johnson who manages to bring his script to life in a forceful, enlightening, and dynamic manner. He’s also quite good as Doug with some well-played confrontation scenes with Jim and Mike.
This is a disturbing, funny, and very relevant film which reflects back on the not too distant past and our attempts at pushing human limits to progress towards an uncertain technological future.
BlackBerry is being re-released this week at Landmark’s Glen Theatre in Glenview. It is also available as a rental on Amazon Prime.