Movie Review: “The Social Network”

Like it or not, Facebook has become one of the greatest innovations so far in the 21^st Century. The reason why it’s so influential is because it was able to transform the way we socialize by bringing the complete experience online. Since its foundation in early 2004, the site has grown into a household name along with producing the youngest billionaire in the world (Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and founder). However, the story of how Facebook came to be is quite an interesting tale. With brand recognition like Facebook along with a unique story, it was only a matter of time until Hollywood got a hold of it and made it into a film. Almost six years later, we finally get to witness the story on film.

With Ben Mezrich’s non-fiction novel, The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal serving as the source material for the film, it attracted the well-respected screenwriter Aaron Sorkin to write a screenplay for what would become The Social Network.  From there, Oscar-nominated director David Fincher was given the responsibility to bring the script to life. With the right talent in place, was The Social Network simply a cheap cash-in at the box office due to its brand? Or is it a piece of entertainment that will be respected for years to come? I’m happy to say that it’s by far the best film (so far) in 2010.

To start off, the cast in The Social Network was simply remarkable. Jesse Eisenberg was able to successfully portray the main character, Mark Zuckerberg, in such a unique and unorthodox way. The best way to describe Mark Zuckerberg in the film is that he is an anti-hero. It’s by far his best performance since his role as Walt Berkman in Noam Baumbach’s The Squid and the Whale. Even Andrew Garfield did a tremendous job as Eduardo Saverin. Both Eisenberg and Garfield were able to bounce off one another in every scene with such precision, and from an audience perspective watching this; you truly feel the raw emotion. The rest of the supporting cast, including Justin Timberlake, Rashida Jones, and Max Minghella also had great performances and carried on the story seamlessly.

I can’t speak highly enough of the amazing direction in this film. Fincher was able to surprisingly bring a level of intensity to the film that kept it engaging from start to finish. He mainly focused on what made the story unique, which is friendship, loyalty, greed, and betrayal. Even the editing in the film was done extremely well since it had to jump back and forth to the present and the past.

Another aspect of the film that really brought The Social Network to a new level was the music. With musicians Trent Reznor and Atticus Rose in charge of the music score, they incorporated their industrial rock background into the film. A great example of their score was during a rowing race in the film when they decided to cover Edvard Grieg’s famous orchestral piece called In the Hall of the Mountain King. The music score definitely encapsulates the dark tone of the film.

The Social Network is a film that is more than just a story of how Facebook came to be. There are many ways to interpret the overall message of the film. Some feel that it’s ultimately a film that is against social networks like Facebook and Twitter because it may be deteriorating the way we interact with one another. Either way, The Social Network is a film that is definitely worth the admission price (and a few Academy Award nominations).

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Tags: Andrew Garfield, David Fincher, Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake, Max Minghella, Movie Review, October 2010, Rashida Jones, The Social Network