By Jordan Komnick ’11, Copy Editor
As both a fan of internet culture and cinema, I became intrigued when The Social Network, a movie that chronicles the development and rise of Facebook, began to get favorable reviews and early Oscar buzz. Therefore, during a free evening on a college visiting trip, my dad and I braved the crowds of 20-something New Yorkers to see a late-night showing in a packed theater. And, despite my already high expectations, the movie blew me away.
In the opening scene, Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) and his girlfriend are on a date in a crowded restaurant. Over the course of only a few minutes, the evening takes a bad turn as Zuckerberg—with the dismissive attitude and quick tongue that defines his character—shows that the only person he truly cares about is himself. While many directors would have this scene be his character-defining moment, and build the film off of what has been established in the first five minutes, David Fincher chooses to slowly reveal other aspects of Zuckerberg’s personality as the story unfolds. Although he is not a likeable character, nor supposed to be one, writer Aaron Sorkin’s rapid and realistic dialogue gives life to the Facebook icon, creating a person that the audience can relate to on many levels.
While Eisenberg’s performance shines due to its nuances and believability, the film also has an excellent ensemble cast. Andrew Garfield, Brenda Song, and Armie Hammer give strong showings as Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, his jealous girlfriend, and the twins who claim Zuckerberg stole their ideas respectively. The real standout, however, is Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker, the creator of Napster. While I came into the theater not expecting much from his performance, Timberlake lends an excitement and energy to his character that turns business meetings and coding sessions into entertaining cinema. In fact, these characters are the backbone of the film, breathing life into scenes that would be otherwise dull. And the film as a whole should be dull, with no more action than lawyers pounding tables and students typing away at computers, but the beautiful combination of Fincher’s direction, Sorkin’s screenplay, and the talented actors make these tedious things as (if not more) exciting than any of the summer blockbusters I have seen.
Overall, The Social Network is a great film. The only drawback is that the movie may not accurately reflect what happened. However, I managed to forget about the real events for a couple hours, much as I do when watching any movie that claims to be inspired by a true story, and immersed myself into the world and characters on screen. If you can do that, then I very highly recommend that you see this movie, which may turn out to be the defining film of the internet generation.
Photo courtesy of fanboyz.net
