The movies opens with Zuckerberg getting dumped by his girlfriend after an exhilarating all be it brutal and nasty war of words in a bar. He goes back to his dorm and starts down a path that begins with drunken blogging and end with him being the youngest billionaire in history. He creates a site where people can rank college girls against other college girls by their "hotness". This prank ends up crashing the Harvard servers in 2 hours after 22,000 hits. The campus elite get word of this and recruit Zuckerberg to launch a social networking site that would be exclusive to Harvard students. Zuckerberg takes that idea and grows it over the next few weeks into what would become The Facebook. He is aided by his best (only) friend Eduardo Saverin, played be Andrew Garfield. Saverin puts up the cash for the venture. He is also being targeted by one of the campus clubs that Zuckerberg wants to be a part of.
The Facebook grows and grows. They expand it beyond the Harvard campus into the other Ivy League schools, then nation wide using college email addresses as a means of keeping it exclusive. You are part of a club if you are on The Facebook. The story takes a turn once the FB team is introduced to Sean Parker. The creator of the music stealing service Napster. He is a familiar character. IF not by name then by his actions. He is the person Zuckerberg wants to be. He is cool. He talks fast, he orders food for everyone at the table, he is surrounded by beautiful women. He is the antithesis of fame and success. Although it is all an illusion. He is broke. He is crashing at random peoples houses. He is a leach. Saverin sees it, Zuckerberg doesn't and Parker becomes the crowbar that will divide the two of them.
The film is brilliantly narrated through not one, but two trails Zuckerberg is a part of. The depositions are a narrative device used to create flashbacks, all the while pushing the story forward. The first case is Saverin suing Zuckerberg for stealing FB from him. The other comes from the Harvard trio that claim they first come up with the idea of the social network. Jesse Eisenberg was given a monstrous task. Playing a character that at no time is sympathetic. Not for one instance is the protagonist of the films looked at in a matter that would make the audience care about him. And he does it brilliantly. He is aided by director Fincher. Who never misses an opportunity to exclude Zuckerberg. In so many frames of the films Zuckerberg is on one side of the screen while everyone else is on the other. He never once attends a party. Not even the 1,000,000 member party for FB. He is isolated either by choice, or by fear. You decide which one is sadder.
Aaron Sorkin penned the script. he is probably best know for his work on the TV show The West Wing. I never watched that show, but I have heard that is was great. I can definitely see where it could be. He writes the legal scenes with razor sharp jabs and prickly honesty. He also has fully developed, flushed out characters. Everyone's motives are clearly understood, but only when they are supposed to be. Sorkin seem to write more in the silences than he does in the dialogue. And that is saying something because this film is packed full of dialogue. That opening scene is reminiscent of His Girl Friday. I'm not sure if is refreshing, stimulating or intimidating to write a script where everyone is at a Harvard education level of speaking. But Sorkin nails it.
I could blog about this movie for hours so I will touch on a few other things that really caught my attention. I am sure that I will be seeing this again the theater again. First, the score. The music for The Social Network was composed by Trent Reznor of "Nine Inch Nails" fame. It is dark and atmospheric. It is the perfect accompaniment to the mood of the film. At a couple of points in the film I thought it was a little loud. As if it wasn't mixed quite right, but overall it was excellent. It reminds me a lot of the music in There Will be Blood. Not in style, but in utility. Next would be Fincher's use of camera. I literally gasped at a few shots in the movie. There are only a few working directors that can get away with such bold shot selection. Not to mention the perfect use of CGI. How do I know it is perfect? I couldn't find it. Finally is the performances. I though Eisenberg was perfect. Garfield as Saverin seemed a little overwhelmed. Perhaps it was because his character is a bit of a patsy. But the performance that stood out for me was Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker. What a great, meaty role. The enfant terrible. TImberlake dives headfirst into the role and it pays off in spades.
Well, I am off to go see Let Me In. The remake of last years Sweedish film Let the Right One In. Look for that review later today or tomorrow. I'm sure I will be reposting about The Social Network later so look for that as well. To view more check out the trailer below.
http://www.youtube.com/user/SocialNetworkMovie?v=53OUHupfqws&feature=pyv&ad=6836107426&kw=the%20social%20network%20trailer
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