The Social Network
Dir: David Fincher
Written By: Aaron Sorkin
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Arnie Hammer and Rooney Mara
Facebook. Facebook is the world’s largest social networking site and with its 500 million users has turned Mark Zuckerberg into the world’s youngest billionaire. However, how did this website come to be? Did Zuckerberg steal the idea from a pair of identical twins? Did he screw his best friend out of the company? The Social Network gives an insight (if slightly inaccurate) into the early days of Facebook, which was filled with lawsuits, conflict and betrayal.
The Social Network is 2 hours of people talking, mainly in deposition rooms arguing over the creation of a website. This may not sound like the most thrilling topic to make a film out of however Aaron Sorkin has written a script full of such razor sharp, witty and dramatic dialogue that makes this film more exciting, gripping and thrilling than some so called thrillers or action adventures (im looking at you Salt, The Expendables and Predators) One key aspect of this however is the direction of David Fincher, it would have been easy for this film to have no visual flourish or style whatsoever however in Finchers hands scenes of computer coding are shot and played like action sequences with him perfectly adding style to the substance of Sorkins screenplay. One rowing race sequence manages to be a perfect combination of cinematography, editing, Finchers directorial eye and music video past along with Trent Reznors dark, classical/techno mix and brilliant score (which wouldn’t be out of place in a horror film). The scene is the closest Social Network comes to an “action sequence” and it is more visually inventive and exciting than scenes that claim to be. Fincher and Sorkin also both know how to give something a perfect ending, as is once again demonstrated here, with a final scene reminiscent of The Godfather part 2.
However Sorkins dialogue and Finchers direction would be wasted if the actors involved weren’t up to the material they were being given behind the screen. Jesse Eisenberg gives the performance of his career so far as Mark Zuckerberg, he perfectly captures the complexities of his character and he fully deserves an Oscar nomination and even a win. His performance drives the film and leads you to both hate and feel sympathy for Zuckerberg in equal measure. The films heart and “hero” you could say is portrayed through future Spiderman Andrew Garfield. Garfield is superb in his role, as Zuckerbergs only friend, you feel his pain in the deposition room. The most surprising performance comes from Justin Timberlake. Yes Justin Timberlake who plays Sean Parker the founder of Napster. Timberlake is nothing short of brilliant as the arrogant, power crazy and paranoid Parker who is much more the villain of the piece. All three main actors deserve award nominations and wins as throughout the entire film you never feel like you are watching Eisenberg, Timberlake and Garfield but Zuckerberg, Parker and Saverin.
The Social Network is tremendously paced and builds up with real momentum as it heads towards its final act. For a film driven by talking it’s never boring and plays out like a crime courtroom drama. The film also works as a character study of the world’s youngest billionaire, the story behind the creation of one of the most important websites of our time, a breakdown of a friendship and the traditional story of power, what it does to people and how it changes people. The film has many themes and messages and most brilliantly is not your typical good guy versus bad guy film. It never tells you who was right and who was wrong, who was bad and who was good and walking out of the film it leaves you discussing the characters, their actions and whom you supported throughout the whole film.
The film also keeps a good sense of humour throughout its running time with numerous jokes and ironic observations, how is it that a man with seemingly no social skills created the worlds biggest social networking site? It also has a brilliant, unnoticeable yet amazing visual effect with one actor (Arnie Hammer) brilliantly playing both of the Winklevoss twins (who provide most of the films laughs), yet again Fincher has utilized effects in a subtle yet superb way.
Overall The Social Network is a film you should see as not only is it well made from Sorkins screenplay, to Reznors score to Finchers direction but it contains performances of the year and their careers from Eisenberg, Garfield and Timberlake as well as containing a gripping and thought provoking story that could maintain it relevancy and power for years to come. This is not just a film about Facebook, its about more than that and while some people may not be accustomed to the films style, it is one of the years best films and is undoubtedly the greatest film ever made about the creation of a website.
As an added note, see if you can spot the brilliant Fight Club reference hidden within the film, thanks for that one Fincher.
One Sentence Summary: Brilliantly written, directed and acted, The Social Network is one of the best films of the year and the greatest film ever made about the creation of a website.
8+/10
By Michael Dalton
The Social Network is 2 hours of people talking, mainly in deposition rooms arguing over the creation of a website. This may not sound like the most thrilling topic to make a film out of however Aaron Sorkin has written a script full of such razor sharp, witty and dramatic dialogue that makes this film more exciting, gripping and thrilling than some so called thrillers or action adventures (im looking at you Salt, The Expendables and Predators) One key aspect of this however is the direction of David Fincher, it would have been easy for this film to have no visual flourish or style whatsoever however in Finchers hands scenes of computer coding are shot and played like action sequences with him perfectly adding style to the substance of Sorkins screenplay. One rowing race sequence manages to be a perfect combination of cinematography, editing, Finchers directorial eye and music video past along with Trent Reznors dark, classical/techno mix and brilliant score (which wouldn’t be out of place in a horror film). The scene is the closest Social Network comes to an “action sequence” and it is more visually inventive and exciting than scenes that claim to be. Fincher and Sorkin also both know how to give something a perfect ending, as is once again demonstrated here, with a final scene reminiscent of The Godfather part 2.
However Sorkins dialogue and Finchers direction would be wasted if the actors involved weren’t up to the material they were being given behind the screen. Jesse Eisenberg gives the performance of his career so far as Mark Zuckerberg, he perfectly captures the complexities of his character and he fully deserves an Oscar nomination and even a win. His performance drives the film and leads you to both hate and feel sympathy for Zuckerberg in equal measure. The films heart and “hero” you could say is portrayed through future Spiderman Andrew Garfield. Garfield is superb in his role, as Zuckerbergs only friend, you feel his pain in the deposition room. The most surprising performance comes from Justin Timberlake. Yes Justin Timberlake who plays Sean Parker the founder of Napster. Timberlake is nothing short of brilliant as the arrogant, power crazy and paranoid Parker who is much more the villain of the piece. All three main actors deserve award nominations and wins as throughout the entire film you never feel like you are watching Eisenberg, Timberlake and Garfield but Zuckerberg, Parker and Saverin.
The Social Network is tremendously paced and builds up with real momentum as it heads towards its final act. For a film driven by talking it’s never boring and plays out like a crime courtroom drama. The film also works as a character study of the world’s youngest billionaire, the story behind the creation of one of the most important websites of our time, a breakdown of a friendship and the traditional story of power, what it does to people and how it changes people. The film has many themes and messages and most brilliantly is not your typical good guy versus bad guy film. It never tells you who was right and who was wrong, who was bad and who was good and walking out of the film it leaves you discussing the characters, their actions and whom you supported throughout the whole film.
The film also keeps a good sense of humour throughout its running time with numerous jokes and ironic observations, how is it that a man with seemingly no social skills created the worlds biggest social networking site? It also has a brilliant, unnoticeable yet amazing visual effect with one actor (Arnie Hammer) brilliantly playing both of the Winklevoss twins (who provide most of the films laughs), yet again Fincher has utilized effects in a subtle yet superb way.
Overall The Social Network is a film you should see as not only is it well made from Sorkins screenplay, to Reznors score to Finchers direction but it contains performances of the year and their careers from Eisenberg, Garfield and Timberlake as well as containing a gripping and thought provoking story that could maintain it relevancy and power for years to come. This is not just a film about Facebook, its about more than that and while some people may not be accustomed to the films style, it is one of the years best films and is undoubtedly the greatest film ever made about the creation of a website.
As an added note, see if you can spot the brilliant Fight Club reference hidden within the film, thanks for that one Fincher.
One Sentence Summary: Brilliantly written, directed and acted, The Social Network is one of the best films of the year and the greatest film ever made about the creation of a website.
8+/10
By Michael Dalton
This trailer was taken from: “The Social Network” Official Trailer –in theatres Oct 1 2010 (Video) July 16, 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2010, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB95KLmpLR4
