The Social Network - Review

You know how you know that a director is talented? Its when he or she can take a movie that consists mainly of a bunch of people doing nothing but talking and typing, yet still making it entertaining. Granted the quality of the dialogue plays a huge role too, but its the director who has to bring it all together. Of course its not like David Fincher had to prove himself for The Social Network. With a resume of quality flicks including Fight Club, Se7en, Zodiac, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Fincher has certainly made a name for himself (so much so that one can easily overlook Alien 3). So with Fincher tackling a movie about the creation of one of the biggest pop culture icons of all time, how does it turn out?

The movie is based on the true story of Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, played by Jesse Eisenberg, who would go on to become the world's youngest billionaire. The story starts in 2004, when Zuckerberg was a student at Harvard. Along with his good friend Eduardo Severin (Andrew Garfield) and a few others, Zuckerberg begins development of a Harvard-exclusive social networking site known as TheFacebook. The sites becomes a hit and prompts the team to expand the site to other schools. As the site continues to develop, the team begins to face a number of problems including strained friendships, unstable business partners, and numerous lawsuits.

First off, The Social Network boasts one of the most entertaining scripts of 2010. That's quite a compliment when you consider that the movie is mainly comprised of a bunch of nerds talking to each other and writing computer code. When that said formula consists of interesting and dynamic characters, a flashback story-arc, and some of the best dialogue I've heard in a movie, its easy to see why The Social Network is so entertaining. The way in which the story develops can be a bit predictable at times and there are no huge plot twists, but there were enough surprises along the way to hold my attention. It is an interesting story that happens to be based on fact. With a true story this intriguing, its easy to see why such a seemingly thin premise works so well. Its not so much a movie about Facebook, or even its founder, but rather a character study of greed, power, and betrayal among passionate and intelligent individuals.

Jesse Eisenberg leads in a pool of very talented actors. I was first introduced to Eisenberg in 2009's surprisingly excellent Zombieland. Here, he once again shows some serious acting chops as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, bringing what will likely become his trademark eccentricity. He can be hard to read sometimes, but that works to his advantage. Zuckerberg is reported to be a gifted computer whiz and a very peculiar person, something Eisenberg has down to a tee. Andrew Garfield also delivers an excellent performance as Facebook co-founder and Zuckerberg's best friend, Eduardo Severin. He shows some talent as well, which is good to know considering that in two years we'll be seeing him don the red tights of Spider-Man in the 2012 reboot of the series.

The rest of the actors brings their own charms to an enjoyable and entertaining cast, but there's one more actor I need to address. Justin Timberlake... he really surprised me. I remember watching Black Snake Moan a few years back expecting him to be a terrible actor, but I was wrong. Now, with his role as Napster founder, Sean Parker, he's really shown that he has some extremely impressive acting abilities. His charisma, delivery, and overall demeanor made him the perfect choice for the role. Timberlake is a damn-good actor, I would have never guessed that a few years back.

A great script and great talent just isn't enough for a movie like this. The Social Network also boasts some of the most impressive camerawork and editing I've seen in quite some time. In order to make a movie that is essentially nerds writing code, some stellar technical work is crucial. The editing is quick, every shot is perfectly placed, and the great musical score only adds to the enjoyment. It kind of reminded me of the the 90s techno thriller movie Hackers, only not as over-the-top, colorful, forced or silly (despite the fact that Hackers is one of my all time guilty pleasures).

Unfortunately, the movie isn't perfect. As I said, the script is great, but the ending comes off as a bit abrupt. It only barely wraps up the few story without providing all the necessary closure. Not to mention it came off quite over-dramatic, which is a huge red flag that the movie wasn't 100% truthful. A few parts could have been explained a bit better too. For instance, they barely mention exactly how Facebook differed from other social networking sites. Yes, it was the first one made specifically for schools (or rather just Harvard at the beginning) but in a time where Friendster and Myspace were huge, they never really explained why Facebook was so revolutionary.

Most of the complaints I have about The Social Network are very minor. This is easily one of the most entertaining, intelligent, and dynamic movies of the year. If you're on the fence about seeing this, I seriously recommend checking it out. Its definitely worth the price of a movie ticket, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see this one get some Oscar nominations.

I give The Social Network 4.5 out of 5!