Following its world premiere at the Berlinale, IFC Films has released the official trailer for the comedy-infused biographical drama ‘BlackBerry’, which opens in theaters on May 12. The film tells the true story of meteoric rise in the early 2000s, followed by its catastrophic demiseof the world’s first smartphone, years before the arrival of the Iphone.
The smartphone that could reign: a revolutionary relic
Canadian filmmaker Matt Johnson directs the film and co-wrote the screenplay with Matthew Miller, based on Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff’s bestselling novel “losing the signal”. The adaptation stars Jay Baruchel, accompanied by Glenn Howerton, Saul Rubinek, Cary Elwes, Michael Ironside, Rich Sommer, Sung Won Cho, and Michelle Girouxthe film has been described as “a dizzying journey through a ruthlessly competitive Silicon Valley at dizzying speeds” and seems like the “geek” cousin of ‘The Social Network’, with an almost parodic tone.
The story follows the business relationship between co-founders Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie as their Canadian company Research in Motion released the device that would become ubiquitous. Subsequently failed in legal disputes and lost its market advantage against competitors such as Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy range. However, for a time, the device was one of the most ubiquitous in the world, essential in most companies.
BlackBerry had its own imitations from other major manufacturers trying to break into the business phone market share, an industry that BlackBerry essentially created. The movie joins youA strange fashion for celebrating recent brands and products that comes in a torrent with projects like ‘Pinball’, ‘Tetris’ and ‘Air’, a tendency to mythologize commercial brands that tells us about a recent history in which it seems that the most interesting thing is the ins and outs and successes of entrepreneurs. Another expression of the wave of cinema? neoliberal?
I love Brand Movie™️ pic.twitter.com/MfGYnP5H15
— Emma Tolkin (@EmmaTolkin) March 20, 2023