We are partial to the idea that Canada has amazing stories but Canadians aren't always good at telling those stories. The terrible film Argo is a great example of Americans trying and failing to tell Canadian stories.
BlackBerry is a Canadian film telling a Canadian story. There are essentially 3 characters:
Jim Balsillie (American actor Glenn Howerton)
Mike Lazaridis (Jay Baruchel)
Doug Fregin (Matt Johnson)
Lazaridis and Fregin head Research in Motion. They have an idea for a phone that can do e-mail. They take it to Balsillie. He turns them down. The parties go back and forth and eventually form a partnership.
The rise and fall of the BlackBerry and Research in Motion.
The contrast of intensity (Balsillie) vs. timidity (Lazaridis and Fregin) is at play. They need each other for everything to work. Then it does and Blackberry takes off.
BlackBerry isn't about character development or remorse. This is the story at least told on film.
Matt Johnson, who wrote and directed the film, also stars as Fregin. This might seem an unusual move for a director to make yet Johnson is excellent as Fregin. If you think of Baruchel as a "jerk," the person can act as you will see here. Wasn't sure about Howerton as Balsillie but proven wrong. Howerton brings a strong amount of intensity to an intense person.
Johnson looks at several moments through a more modern lens. Balsillie brings in a, well, jerk as the COO who, at one point, makes a sexist remark. Johnson focuses the camera on a female employee and her facial reaction to what is being said.
The film also takes time to show Balsillie's interest in buying a NHL team. This allows Mark Critch to appear briefly as NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. Critch didn't shave his head for the brief role.
Matt Johnson gives the film audience an intimacy this story needs. Johnson is also known for The Dirties (2013), Operation Avalanche (2016), and the Web series Nirvanna the Band the Show.
You don't have to be a geek or a hard-headed financier to appreciate the film. A well-told Canadian story that most people think they know.
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Douglas Holtz-Eakin, senior domestic policy adviser to presidential candidate John McCain in 2008, claimed that the Blackberry was a "miracle that John McCain helped create." The claim was ridiculous even if the Blackberry was a U.S. invention. This movie will remind people that the Blackberry is Canadian.
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Barry Hertz from The Globe and Mail recently ranked this film 3rd on a list of the 23 best Canadian comedies. The Windsor International Film Festival announced BlackBerry is one of the 10 finalists for its 2023 prize in Canadian film.
BlackBerry has had theatrical runs in Canada and the United States.
video credit: YouTube/IFC Films
photo credit: BlackBerry
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