GFF 2023: BlackBerry

The rise and fall of the BlackBerry smartphone – once ubiquitous, now obsolete – is an odd premise for a feature film. But director and star Matt Johnson plumbs the rapid tech development of the 1990s, and the ruthless Wall Street and personal politics that accompanied it, to craft an appropriately offbeat story retelling the real-life narrative. Fans of The Social Network and The Big Short will have much to enjoy in the clash between dream and reality, and the ticking time bombs that result. 

Playing the founders of Research in Motion, Johnson and Jay Baruchel respectively embody the personable enthusiasm of Doug Fregin and the socially awkward perfectionism of Mike Lazaridis – the pairs' complementary personalities meets roadblocks as their company is bought and their product continually enhanced. Glenn Howerton’s Jim Balsillie is played as the slimy success that his It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia character Dennis Reynolds imagines himself to be; it works.

The film takes half its runtime to settle into a groove: early humour veers dangerously close to cringe, whereas the balance of goofy and deadpan suits the pacing once the phone launches on the market. History knows which way these heightened stakes will turn, and callbacks and foreshadowing around this inevitable car crash work better in visual references than they do in dialogue. The target of Johnson’s affection, ire, and jokes blur, often frustratingly and to the detriment of the love and innovation that drives Fregin and Lazaridis. Hindsight is 20/20, as a clip of Steve Jobs’ iPhone launch demonstrates; one wishes BlackBerry was not so keenly aware of this. 

---

BlackBerry had its UK premiere at Glasgow Film Festival, with a UK release planned for later in 2023; listen to The Cineskinny podcast's interview with director Matt Johnson in the player below, or wherever you get your podcasts...