Andrew Garfield - Eduardo Saverin
Justin Timberlake - Sean Parker
Armie Hammer - The "Winklevie" twins
David Fincher (Director)
The Best Film of 2010 in my opinion. This movie is so good I was afraid to watch it again. This is not the first time that this has happened. I watch a movie once, or I watch it a bunch and aquire a love for the film then I suddenly stop watching it. I get scared that somehow it won't live up to its own hype that I have developed in my head. The first time I watched this movie it was in a nearby college town with my girlfriend. We left the theater and I knew right away that I had seen something special. At the time I couldn't put it into words. I hope I can do a better job of that now.
Let me start with the script. The script was penned by Arron Sorkin. The head writer for The West Wing and Sports Night television shows. I (not one to watch television) have never seen so much as 1 episode of either of these programs, but I understand that they were both considered to be very well written and acted. Mr. Sorkin is known for his ferocious, machine-gun-like dialogue. This is completely on display. "Words are like weapons". I know that sounds trite, but there are no explosions, no car chases, no Mexican standoffs in this picture. All the drama, all the suspense and all the vitriol comes from the spoken word.
And who is responsible for how those words are spoken? David Fincher. The director of Fight Club and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to name a few. But his responsibility doesn't stop there. If you are in aggreance with the auter theory then you believe that a director is the creative force behind a film as a whole. Of course they have to work with all sorts of people: Sound, effects, writters, camera and lighting, and so forth. But all of those tasks are (or should be) in service of telling telling the story which is the job of the director. In The Social Network Fincher's fingerprints are all over this movie.
Lets talk for a second about the sound and score. The film was scored by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and Atticus Ross. This is an electric, pulsating score that washes over you like a warm bath. I tried to constantly notice the music in the film, but the movie is too damn captivating. I couldn't focus on any one element of the movie because all of the elements are so well woven.
In brief, The Social Network is the story of the founding of Facebook. It is how a smartass 19 year old had (or stole) an idea to make a website that would change the way people communicate in first part of the 21st century. Courtroom drama stuff? It could have been in the hands of lesser talent. Lesser film makers would have turned this story into another Pelican Brief or The Rainmaker or some other John Grishman stories. Instead Sorkin and Fincher look deeper than that. The themes in The Social Network are themes that have been in stories since stories were first told. Revenge, greed, friendship, power, trust.
When I first watched the film I knew one thing. The performance were mostly good but none of them were outstanding. Eisenberg was very good in by far his most difficult role. I loved Justin Timberlake in the newest version of Pontius Pilate, Sean Parker. The only one that I didn't really care for was Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin. I though he was not committed to the role. He seemed to be acting in front of a green screen while the rest of the cast was on set. I don't know what changed with this viewing, but I take it back. I felt this time around that he at least held his own with the rest of the cast. At this point I need to mention Armie Hammer in the role of both twins. My girlfriends favorite part: "I'm 6'5", 230lbs and there's two of me". He is dreamy. But seriously he was great. I can't imagine playing two roles. Twins. They need to look and act similar, but they have to have different personalities. And he pulled it off. Also props to Fincher and his special effects team.
There is one scene that I want to talk about from solely a visual perspective. That is the big rowing match on the Thames river. I have no idea how Fincher achieved that look. I have never seen anything that looked like that as far as I can remember. I hope there is something on bonus content that explains how he made that segment look like that.
I could go on and on about this movie and I am sure that I will be watching it a few more times before the end of my year. I wish this film good luck at the Oscars. I give The Social Network ★★★★★. Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself. Wow. I made it to the end of this blog and realized that I blogged about this movie already (Movie #25) Check out that post as well!
http://365degreesoffilm.blogspot.com/2010/10/movie-25-social-network.html
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