The Social Network

The Social Network



The Social Network tells the story of the rise of the phenomenon that is Facebook.

Mark Zuckerberg is dumped by his girlfriend in the opening scene and in a drunken rage he goes online and hacks into different websites to take student photos and create a site called FaceMash, where people pick which girl is hotter. This leads to some academic probation, but it catches the eyes of three other students who want to create a social networking site that would be exclusive to Harvard students. They tell Zuckerberg the idea and he joins the team. Unfortunately Zuckerberg shuts them off from communication and writes his own codes and brings in his best friend as CFO. Thus The Facebook is born. As the site gets more popular, Zuckerberg loses his connection with his best friend and ends up getting sued by him and the three students for millions of dollars.

When I first heard that there was going to be a movie based on Facebook, I rolled my eyes and asked why even bother. Then, to my surprise, I heard that David Fincher was set to direct. My interest perked up a little bit, after all the guy directs some stellar films. It wasn't until the trailers starting popping up did I really want to see this film. The accolades that it has been receiving added more anticipation. Now that I've seen the film, all I can say is bravo.

Fincher and soon to be nominated for best adapted screenplay Aaron Sorkin, have created a film that defines what this generation is all about. Facebook is such a cultural impact that some people can't live their lives without it. I have it open in another window as I'm writing this review right now. The film will undoubtably receive more award nominations than screenplay, I'm just curious to see if any of those are in the acting department because this cast is great.

Jesse Eisenberg, who people always claimed to be a Michael Cera rip off, commands the screen with his awkward and pseudo intelligent riffs in his speeding bullet laced monologues. The guy (Zuckerberg) is brilliant at code writing, but his social skills are clearly lacking. His best friend, Eduardo Saverin (soon to be Spiderman Andrew Garfield) is desperate to get into elite clubs and has his emotions close to the surface. Eventually they explode when he learns he's being shifted out of his CFO position. Garfield plays well opposite Eisenberg. To my surprise Justin Timberlake wasn't irritating. He plays egocentric Sean Parker and while I don't see any awards heading his way, he does help complete a well put together cast.

The story jumps between two timelines. The present, in which Zuckerberg is facing two lawsuits and the past, which we see the creation of facebook. Heaps of praise should be thrown on Fincher and Sorkin, they pulled off this structure perfectly. The film feels just like his previous efforts, dark and cold. Much like the depiction of Zuckerberg. I can't comment on how true the film depicts the events, but we all know he did get sued and the filmmakers stand by the truths they tell in this film. It's all heightened to be entertaining, but with Zuckerberg trying to steer clear, I see a lot of truth in this film.

The Social Network is one of the years best films. It's solid direction from Fincher, who knows what he wants from every aspect. Sorkin delivers a timeless story set in our age of the internet and facebook. Friendship, greed and loyalty are all called into question. The performance are strong across the board with such a young cast. Eisenberg standing out in the lead role of Zuckerberg. The score is phenomenal, Fincher knew what he wanted and he got it with Trent Reznor. His style of music perfectly matches the film with the technology it's bringing to the forefront.

I wouldn't call this the film of the decade, but it is good enough to be in the high ranks of Fincher's best work and one of the best works this year. For a film that is simply people talking, it feels natural and goes at a breakneck speed. I highly recommend The Social Network.

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Suspect's Reviews

Good review is good.

Yeah man. Eisenberg was just fantastic. And hella cool.

Yes. I love how he remixed the Greig track during the boat race sequence.

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Repost (with additions):

I just saw it. Now I finally get what they mean with the Rashomon comparison but it only refers to the flashback framing, which... correct me if I'm wrong, is not really unique anymore and could have been said about many films.

Um... for me it was really good but never impressive per se. For the most part the cinematography and especially editing (save for the intercutting between the frame and the principle narrative [not new or noteworthy, but it worked well]) was middling for Fincher, but there was one (maybe two) sequences that were excellent (i.e. rowboat), albeit a little obvious... nearly to the point of cliche. Nevertheless, I did appreciate the way these moments fit into the film. The best part of the film are the characters. You really get attached to each one. That is except maybe Zuckerberg himself, who admittedly doesn't need a lot of sympathy or depth in order to be effective. There's a good deal of humor, sure, but the film is---especially for its goofy-sounding subject matter---very serious. Still... I wouldn't go as far as to call this the "seedy underbelly" of Facebook. Any of the unethical act supposedly committed by Zuckerberg are marginal and highly ambiguous to say the least. None of them, save one (i.e. Eduardo situation), are clear cut in their consequence on Facebook where credit is concerned.Reflecting back, I'm actually impressed that the film got me to care so much about a pretty tame set of dramas in relation to a product that I do not exactly revere. Similar to Zodiac, Fincher really expands on and amplifies on the audience-supposed idea of drama without coming to overblown melodrama. The explosion of tension at the finale is quite subdued, and everything left over from the principal narrative is re-channeled into the frame. There really is more than meets the eye to these sorts of entrepreneurial team-efforts, which, regardless of the specific context in relation to Facebook, this movie is really about. The three parts of a successful idea are almost too cleanly archetyped by the film's cast. There's the idea (the twins), there's the genius who does all the actual physical groundwork (Zuckerberg), and then there's the business end who makes the monetary investment (Eduardo vs. Sean).

Also, the film tries to "explain" Zuckerberg's motivations along with the rest of the cast as well as all internet entrepreneurs in general, which, too me, comes off as a bit silly, but within the context of the film it certainly works.Sean is suggested several times to be a paranoiac, the twins are suggested to be presumptive of their social status, and Zuckerberg is suggested to be motivated by loneliness. The final shot is surely something we all can relate to, regardless of whether or not that is true.

8/10 and yes, I raised my score (for now)

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“The Social Network” is by far one of the best movies I’ve seen this year. David Fincher knocked this one out of the park. Jesse Eisenberg was phenomenal and so is the new Spiderman, Andrew Garfield. Some of the cinematography is just flat out flawless. The regatta scene was glorious to say the least. What’s next for David Fincher? How about Jesse Eisenberg? His performance was absolutely perfect-I was doubting until I saw it. Trust me: go see this film. It is the fastest two-hour long film I have ever seen. And on top of that…http://www.imdb.com/news/ni4692644/. It dominates the Box Office. I'd give it a 4/5.

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I'll definitely give this a go, Fincher hasn't let me down in a while.

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What a script! Lightning fast nerd speak FTW

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Mark my word, my fellow movie buffs, this movie is going home with the Academy Award for Best Picture come Oscar night! David Fincher is winning his long deserved Best Director Oscar as well!

If Clint Eastwood reads this, he'll make 2 films before the year ends just to be a strong contender.

Still haven't caught this (my schedule the other night worked better with The Town, so I saw that), but I'm definitely going to at some point soon. Sounds right up my alley.

So give us the Blurb: The Town: How much? !!

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I heard a radio show this morning where someone who knew Zuckerberg claimed that he was really NOTHING like he was depicted in the film. He said that Zuckerberg was basically the LEAST angry person he ever met. However, that doesn't necessarily preclude the certain moments of overheating that took place in the hearings.

He also said that, while the film tries to create a narrative surrounding the notion that Zuckerberg's motivations are largely--if not solely--motivated by his ex-girlfriend, in reality, Zuckerberg just started a relationship immediately previous to his work on TheFacebook.

The rest of the stuff about the twins, Sean, and Eduardo seems to be generally accurate.

Just FYI. I find this totally irrelevant to the film. No one REALLY knows what motivated Zuckerberg, so whatever.

Saw this last night. This is one very good movie. Review forthcoming.

So i've got no choice but to see it now, haven't I? Not heard a single bad word. I hope you can dislike Facebook and stil admire the film.

I don't think the reality of Facebook will have any affect on what you think of the film.

I am 27. Same age as this guy Zuckerberg. I havent seen this movie. Howver going by the reviews you guys have given it will definitely make sure I watch it the first opportunity i get.

Just one question though. Zuckerberg maybe a millionaire but isnt it sad that at this age already a movie is being made on him that too in not too good a light. After all the dude has so much of his life in front of him. What say?

Here's my review of The Social Network, which I saw on Wednesday night. Very enjoyable, extremely well-crafted. Still chuckling over some of the lines, too.

It's clearly going to be the defining thing in his life, so I don't think his age really matters in this context. He's the youngest billionaire ever, so it stands to reason he'd be among the youngest people to have a fairly critical film made about him, too. It's a reflection of his success, fair or not, and not some kind of terrible harbinger given that it happened when he was 27.

I haven't seen the movie as yet either, however it certainly is a relevant story, which may indeed by the first chapter in a bio- movie adaptation.

Think of it this way. The movie Walk the Line traces the Johnny Cash story from his origins as a child up to his legendary performance at Folsom Prison. Theres a whole other movie that could be made on the rest of his life that may well be shot, as Joaquin Pheonix and Reese Witherspoon age.

Its done in fictional films, Chinatown and the Two Jakes; the last picture show and texasville, were separated by 15 years.

Who knows, maybe this is just the beginning.

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does anyone else think Jesse Eisenberg totally looks like John McClane? [the mofo member, not the Diehard character].

Lil' bit.

I wander what people will think in a couple of years when facebook dies and something new arrives. To help think about if myspace made a movie before this one. I think it will be a forgetful film, but it will go into internet history.

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More on that later...