BlackBerry is a little Canadian indie biopic film from filmmaker Matt Johnson and it's one that I had heard very little about until a few weeks ago once the buzz for this one started to finally hit the internet. The film's theatrical release has been pretty big over in Canada, but unfortunately relatively quiet over here in the United States. Luckily I was able to catch this gripping film last week and it not only lives up to the buzz I've been hearing but is also one of the best films I've seen in all of 2023 thus far.
As implied by its title, the film follows the rise and eventual decline of the world's first smartphone, BlackBerry which was first developed by the Canadian company Research in Motion in the 90s. While BlackBerry isn't adding a whole lot new to the rise and fall formula that we've seen other biopics follow, director and co-writer Matt Johnson turns what seems like a surface level story into a consistently entertaining and engaging character piece. The screenplay he co-writes with Matthew Miller is razor-sharp with biting dialogue and gripping character beats. As someone who knew almost nothing about this real-life story, I was taken back by not only how the story unravels, but also the film's on point dark comedic beats. There has been a lot of comparisons to The Social Network and those are definitely warranted, but it thankfully never feels like Johnson is ever mimicking the styles of Fincher & Sorkin. His direction behind the camera isn't particularly flashy, but it's some of the most assured and best work I've seen all year.
The performances across the board are excellent. Jay Baruchel has always been a rather underrated one in the business. He's a talented comedian and has even shown flashes of having some dramatic chops in the past. But in this film as Mike Lazaridis, Baruchel has I think never been better. He's compelling and goes to some dramatic heights that even I didn't realize he had in him. But as great as Baruchel is, the show stealer is without a doubt Glenn Howerton as Jim Balsillie. Howerton like Baruchel obviously has a lot of natural comedic sensibilities and he's able to really inject that through this performance, but he also goes to dramatic heights in many of the film's key moments and it's one of the best performances I've seen so far this year. Matt Johnson himself also has a supporting role in this and he's very good too. Always a fun pleasure to see Cary Elwes pop up in anything.
It's not a film without some minor issues. While this story is gripping, the film doesn't have much new to say with its commentary and is structure in a way that feels so reminiscent of other rise and fall biopic films of its kind that we've seen done to death at this point. The last act of the film is good but doesn't necessarily have the same intrigue or sense of urgency of everything that came before it. It clocks in at a well welcomed two hours but can occasionally lose some of that momentum.
But Blackberry is easily able to overcome these hiccups and make for one of the most entertaining films of 2023 thus far. Thanks to a pair of terrific lead performances, a great script, and sharp direction, Matt Johnson is able to bring this story to life in not only entertaining, but thoroughly engrossing fashion. If it's still playing anywhere near you in your area, please do yourself a favor and seek it out.
Final Grade: B+