The Social Network

Alternatively known as 'Facebook Begins', The Social Network is a David Fincher film that explores Mark Zuckerberg's rise to becoming a billionaire. It's ultimately a sad story that is brilliantly executed. It's easy to see how some may be bored with the film right from the first scene, where Mark talks to his then-girlfriend Erica Albright about 'clubs' in Harvard. In fact, some may see how the whole film is uninteresting. And that's fine. The Social Network is a film about the dynamics between people, and the many ways those dynamics can be explored. This film has a perfect cast, with the main highlight easily being Jesse Eisenberg. His character is incredibly smart, yet naïve, easily jealous, and filled with angst. A particular scene, in which Eisenberg gives a speech about whether or not a particular character has Zuckerberg's attention is flat-out terrific. Andrew Garfield plays Zuckerberg's best friend Eduardo, a character who's constantly forced to deal with all the bad things that happen to him, such as having to feed a chicken pieces of chicken. Justin Timberlake plays Sean, a bragging and manipulating dirty coward who manages to blind Zuckerberg as Facebook continues to become more and more popular. Armie Hammer plays two characters: Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss (Josh Pence provides the body for Tyler during filming. Watching the film, I thought Armie Hammer had a twin. Barmy Hammer.). The Winklevoss brothers are the top dogs at Harvard. Over the course of the film, their arc has them debating whether or not to sue Mark for essentially stealing their idea. While Hammer gives an excellent performance, something feels off about the Winklevoss' dialogue, like it belongs in some sort of light, happy, comedy. That's not to say the script is bad. It's excellent, the perfect dialogue bleeding throughout the script and brilliantly excecuted in the film. David Fincher's direction is something to awe at. The way every shot is filmed is personal and sensitive, his style throughout the film is a flawless mirror to the script. The soundtrack, provided by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Of 'Nine Inch Nails' fame) is equally brilliant, and helps drive the film forward. The Social Network is a film about people, the relationships between people, and how those relationships can be broken with ease over a simple web site. It's Facebook's origin story, and it's a pretty great one.

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