"BlackBerry" tells the story of Mike Lazaridis (Jay Baruchel) and Jim Balsillie (Glenn Howerton), the two men that charted the course of the spectacular rise and catastrophic demise of the world's first smartphone. The BlackBerry, actually the brainchild of Lazaridis and his best friend Doug Fregin (Matt Johnson), needed someone to get their idea off the ground, so Mike hired Balsillie, an executive that he and Doug were pitching the idea to, to help them with the managing, marketing and implementation of the phone, whereas Mike, Doug and their crew dealt with the design aspects. This rise and fall of the company reveals the dangerous speed at which innovators race along the information superhighway.
Others to round out the cast are Cary Elwes as Carl Yankowski, Saul Rubinek as John Woodman, Michael Ironside as Charles Purdy, Rich Sommer as Paul, SungWon Cho as Ritchie, Laura Cilevitz as Shelly, Michelle Giroux as Dara and Mark Critch as Bettman.
This was brilliantly orchestrated by director Matt Johnson ("The Dirties" '13, Operation Avalanche" '16) plus TV and a music video. The way this filmmaker was able to create a frenetic feel with these characters with such subtle nuances was amazing. He has acted in many films as a 'working actor', and since he doesn't have a ton of directing experience, perhaps he might take the plunge and start directing more films he acts in like other actors have ventured into? After this, he will undoubtedly receive more work. This was creatively written by Matt Johnson ("The Dirties" '13, "Operation Avalanche" '16) plus TV, and Matthew Miller ("Surviving Crooked Lake" '08) plus TV, shorts and story editor. Again, both of these writers do not really have a plethora of writing experience, since they do have a certain amount of TV experience, and with that, it had to have served them. The script was well thought out, cohesive and sequenced like the pros they are. Really, the only thing that I did question about this story was the fact that the name of the company, BlackBerry was never divulged. I'm not sure of why--maybe even the creators of the product really don't remember--not sure. Otherwise this script was delineated with such expertise and super clarity.
This story of product invention and development was interesting, intriguing and informational especially if one is into this certain topic. I've always been intrigued with how businesses start and what they need and have to accomplish to sell an idea, service, product and the like to the general populace. The writing, directing and acting in this was consummate, and Baruchel could possibly receive a nod come Oscar time. We'll see.
Out of 4 Stars: 4 Rated: R 120mins.
No comments:
Post a Comment