Release Date: 10/01/2010
The Social Network, written by Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men) and directed by David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) is being hailed as “the movie of the year” and a film that “brilliantly defines our generation”. This is a lot of hype for a movie about the founding of Facebook and when it was first rumored that Fincher had chosen this as his next project, there was sure to be a lot of doubt in the director’s project selection. Fincher is never to be doubted again. The Social Network is a pitch-perfect film, beautifully combining Sorkin’s slick dialogue with Fincher’s personal creative vision. Fincher not only takes a group of young actors and tells an amazing story of the creation of a multi billion-dollar company, but he tells a dark tale of friendship lost, the desire to be socially accepted and what it sometimes takes to be successful in the 21st century. The Social Network truly does define our time, just as much as The Graduate did in the 60’s, it surely will go down as the best movie of 2010 and is Fincher’s best work since Fight Club.
On a fall night in 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg played by Jesse Eisenberg sits down at his computer after breaking up with his girlfriend. In a drunken stupor he begins working on a new idea. What he creates is a website that crashes the college’s system at 4am and gets some upper classmen interested in his work. Divya Narendra played by Max Minghella and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss both played by Armie Hammer confront Mark about an idea that they have. Mark has a better idea. What Mark starts in his dorm room with his roommate Eduardo Saverin played by Andrew Garfield, soon becomes a global social network and a revolution in communication. A mere six years and 500 million friends later, Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history, but for this entrepreneur, success leads to both personal and legal complications.
What makes this film different than any I’ve seen this year is that it grabs a hold of you from the opening scene and just never lets up the whole way through. I was amazed that its running time was 2 hours because it literally felt like I was in my seat for 45 minutes. That’s how you know you are submerged deep in a film’s story. David Fincher is one the best working directors in the industry right now, his consistent resume is up there with the likes of Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, Darren Aronofsky, and Paul Thomas Anderson. The Social Network again shows that he is only getting better, and he just might have made a film that finally gets him recognized by the Academy.
Once in awhile you get a perfect marriage of writer and director, who would of thought a political courtroom based dramatic writer and a visionary director of Fincher’s scale could blend so well in a finished result. The Social Network though is a lot more then just a Facebook movie, it digs deep into the psyche of it’s lead character Mark Zuckerberg and Eisenberg portrays him in such a way where you almost feel bad for him. The irony to the story is that this kid, who just wants to be cool, develops an interesting website that connects people, but as it grows bigger the people he is close to grow further and further apart from him.
The rest of the cast is phenomenal. Mark’s lady interest and one of the main reasons why Mark is driven to come up with a cool idea is Erica played by Rooney Mara (recently cast as Lisbeth Salander in Fincher’s next film the American remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). Mara only had a few scenes but is very convincing and shows potential as a talented actress. Justin Timberlake plays Sean Parker who is the fast-talking, charismatic, Napster owner who wants a piece of Facebook. Timberlake was surprisingly very good and perfectly cast. The best performance though came from newcomer Andrew Garfield who plays Mark’s best friend Eduardo Saverin. He has by far the most dramatic role in the film and absolutely steals the show in a scene near the end of the film, which could possibly land him a supporting actor nod. Watch out for him in the next couple years because this should be his breakout film.
Technically this is as good as it gets. Beautifully shot on the RED camera Fincher even makes a crew race look amazing. The film is crisp and sharp, with editing that is sure to get a nomination with a good possibility of a win. Throw in some dark, haunting original music by Trent Reznor and what you have is a technical masterpiece to go along with an engaging story.
The Social Network is all around phenomenal film and one that will surely go down as the best of the year. David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin have caught onto something. You ever go into a guy’s den and see a picture of him standing next to fourteen trout? No, he’s holding an 800-pound marlin and that’s what THEY got.
I’m CEO…bitch and The Social Network is MADE!!!!
IMDB: N/A
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Moviewiseguys: 10/10
