The Social Network

2010. Dir: David Fincher. Starring: Jessie Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Rooney Mara and Armie Hammer. ●●●●●



One of reasons I love film is that as a medium it is as constantly surprising as it is beautiful, for every film you plan to see that comes up short there's another that blows you away unexpectedly. At the beginning of the year in my countdown for most anticipated movies for 2010 I included Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Robin Hood and Knight and Day, I did not include The Social Network. Shame on me.



Ostensibly David Finchers 8th feature is about the creation of The (a preposition later dropped) Facebook by Harvard computer programmer (or "nerd" if you will) Mark Zuckenberg, and the subsequent lawsuits concerning the intellectual property and market share of the site. Indeed plotwise that is just about it, we see in the film extremely well put together moments of coding which remain interesting to all audience members and we flash between the events involved in the creation of the website and the depositions from the two main lawsuits.

This is window dressing though to the themes of the picture, Aaron Sorkin's script does a fine job of highlighting the cut throat nature of all business ventures, including the playground mentality that pervades into these young men's minds (and they are almost exclusively men) and the loneliness that must come with power and entrepreneurial success. Zuckenberg, in actions that reflect the tragic inevitability of Shakespearean plotting, must cut off all his friends and acquaintances for the good of the company. It is the flaws in his character that make this a necessity, and these flaws speak out as a metaphor for our time.

Praise be then to Jesse Eisenberg who never misses a note as Zuckenberg. He outwardly projects a neurotic blank, a man who's unlimited data processing is only matched by the dearth of emotional intelligence. The quips and comments he makes flow effortlessly from him whilst damaging those around who expect more. Eisenberg has immediately jumped into my radar and I very much hope the Academy recognise his Sterling work.

The supporting cast are excellent throughout, not one performance seems out of place, but most notable - purely in terms of screen time - are Andrew Garfield's Eduardo Saverin (the money behind the original project) all puppy dog eyes and enthusiasm, Justin Timberlake as Napster founder Sean Parker who's experience, hustling and savvy bring in the audience as well as Eisenberg naif and Armie Hamer as the both Winklevoss twins (of Winklevi if you will), mad possible through Fincher's habit of creating small but resonant visual effects, representing the American elite, athletic, monied and bright enough to have a future without Facebook. Each of these characters, like Caesar's conspirators, will provide different challenges to Zuckenberg's ultimate goal and like Caesar he must betray them or find himself betrayed.

Fincher and Sorkin make a fascinating director and writing pair, as unlikely to succeed as you could imagine and yet here create one of cinema's modern masterpieces here on the celluloid. By turns comic (I laughed out loud several times), breathtaking and pompously serious the shots, and James Cronnweth's murky cinematography with it, always underlines the action and theme. Trent Reznor also surprises with a original and pulsing score.

I hope I have conveyed my personal feelings about this film, but in case I haven't, in no uncertain terms, it is a must see. Definitely the best film I've seen in cinemas in a long time.