The Social Network | Review
Who would have ever thought that a movie about Facebook would become a critically-acclaimed, award-winning film such as ‘The Social Network’ is? It takes a lot of effort to dramatize the history behind the making of the most famous social networking site in the world, and to make it provocatively entertaining nonetheless, and director David Fincher and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin successfully accomplish this difficult task.
‘The Social Network’ revolves around Facebook-founder and Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg, played by Jesse Eisenberg (‘Zombieland’). The first scene in the film shows Mark on a date with his girlfriend Erica (Rooney Mara) back in 2003. It’s safe to say the date didn’t end well. Erica breaks up with Mark, calling him an “asshole,” and thus begins the whirlwind of events that eventually lead up to the creation of Facebook. Mark, while in a furious and drunken state, hacks into the Harvard “Facebook” dorm pages, gets access to photos of all the female students who attend the college, and creates FaceSmash, a website where Harvard students can rate the girls based on their physical attractiveness.
Mark’s actions catch the attention of three other Harvard students, the Winklevoss twins (both played by Armie Hammer) and their business partner Divya Narendra (Max Minghella). These guys are impressed that Mark was able to hack the Harvard servers while intoxicated, and they offer him the chance to work on their forthcoming website, “The Harvard Connection.” Mark agrees to work with the twins and Narendra on the website, but soon comes up with an idea for himself, called “TheFacebook.”
Eduardo Saverin (portrayed by Andrew Garfield) helps Mark with the website by providing the finance. They agree to a 70-30 partnership, with Mark receiving the higher end of the deal. TheFacebook quickly becomes popular with Harvard students, and when the Winklevoss twins find out about Mark’s new website, they angrily respond, believing Mark stole their idea.
Whether or not Mark truly stole the Winklevoss twins’ idea or not can be debated – and it is, in court. Mark believes he didn’t really steal the idea (since he didn’t actually use any of their codes), that he only made it better, and goes on to explain a thoughtful analogy regarding the invention of chairs.
From the very start the film goes all-out with its fast-paced dialogue. Honestly, the characters in ‘The Social Network’ speak lightning-fast throughout many parts of the film, especially the character of Mark Zuckerberg. The film itself is apparently sped up by 1-point-something times in order to shorten the film into its two-hour running time. The dialogue isn’t just lengthy for length’s sake, they’re actually thoughtful, detailed, and interesting. Aaron Sorkin’s screenplay is an impressive and smartly-written one that effectively explains the provocative story behind Facebook. Combined with the filmmaking talents of David Fincher (‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ & ‘Fight Club’), ‘The Social Network’ packs a powerful punch.
Besides a a great screenwriter and director, the film also features wonderful performances. Jesse Eisenberg is effective as the fast-talking, socially-awkward Mark Zuckerberg, and Justin Timberlake does a surprisingly convincing job at portraying Napster-founder Sean Parker, but the performance most impressive is Andrew Garfield’s. The role of Eduardo seems to require the most emotional acting ability. Garfield does an impeccable job at portraying the character with the most emotional depth, a character who reluctantly helps his best friend create Facebook, and who eventually loses his entire involvement with the company.
The soundtrack to the film, composed by Atticus Ross and Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor, is a remarkable one, and it’s one of the best soundtracks of 2010. Tracks such as “In Motion” or “Hand Covers Bruise” are truly beautiful to listen to.
‘The Social Network’ is a extremely fine film that boasts a talented cast, a strong director, and a smart screenwriter. It’s one of the best films of the year. ‘The Social Network’ isn’t simply a “Facebook movie,” and shouldn’t be viewed as a biographical film. In a way, the film is an insightful tragedy, involving the creation of an internet phenomenon as well as the personal downfall of Mark Zuckerberg. The final scene of the film truly captures this thematic aspect, and it rightfully does. It’s the perfect ending to a film such as this.
Four out of four Kent's.
PS: Andrew Garfield impressed me in this film, and now I cannot wait for the new Spider-Man reboot coming out in 2012, currently titled ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’! Garfield is portraying the new Spider-Man/Peter Parker, and the film is directed by the director of ‘(500) Days of Summer’, Marc Webb. The film also features Emma Stone (‘Easy A‘ & ‘Zombieland’) as love-interest Gwen Stacy.
