The Social Network film review
The Social Network certainly isn’t a film that needs to be viewed on the big screen. It’s interesting enough to deserve a viewing at some point though, particularly if you have any entrepreneurial aspirations, a fascination with social media or are just curious about the evolution of Facebook – which in less than a decade has established itself as Thee Social Hub on the Internet, revolutionising how people interact and open up their lives to friends.
The simplest way to think of The Social Network is as a big screen Noughties descendent of Pirates of Silicon Valley, that highly acclaimed made-for-TV movie examining the rivalries between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, and the simultaneous development of the home computer.
Based on real life events, plot wise The Social Network is your pretty standard “rise to the top” movie laced with tech flavouring. We’ve seen the basic tale already in dozens of commerce-centric and gangster movies – a not especially nice guy protagonist, through a combination of ingenuity and sneakiness, rises from nobody-dom to the pinnacle of success. Along the way the “hero” attracts dubious business partners and alienates his closest friends, and in the end there is some kind of fall, normally as a direct result of the “hero’s” arrogance and insecurities.
The “hero” in The Social Network is Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) a nerdy Harvard undergraduate, who, in 2003, comes up with the idea for the ultimate social networking site after rejection by both his girlfriend (Rooney Mara, America’s soon-to-be Lisbeth Salander) and the campus’s powerful private social clubs. Zuckerberg is an interesting character – a genius who yearns for acceptance but whose apparent lack of social filters cause him to say very hurtful things to those closest to him. Zuckerberg doesn’t set out to be a bad guy but he certainly isn’t as socially well integrated and likeable as his best friend, aspirant businessman Eduardo Saverin (new Spider-Man Andrew Garfield).
It’s worth mentioning at this point that the cast of The Social Network includes some of the most intriguing members of under-30, up-and-coming Hollywood. Director David (Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) Fincher has assembled a very talented young cast. And special mention must go to Justin Timberlake, who’s probably the biggest surprise of the movie, oozing charisma as big-talking Napster founder Sean Parker.
Along with the good work of its cast, The Social Network is an unexpectedly and darkly funny movie. Some of the best lines belong to Armie Hammer as towering twin super-jocks and “Harvard gentlemen” Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. The Winklevosses are in fact the most amusing characters in the film – young men who have apparently never failed at anything in their lives, and are now utterly flummoxed when they’re outsmarted by a geek they won’t permit beyond their club’s entrance hall.
Given the film’s 120 minutes of enjoyable bouncing between boardrooms and debaucherous college behaviour, the only real failing of The Social Network is its very abrupt, unsatisfying ending. This said, the very final scene is perhaps my favourite in the entire movie – highlighting how one of the most popular social networking sites was born from the mind of one very lonely, self-isolating individual.
The Social Network doesn’t offer rip-roaring entertainment. However, it is thoughtful, intelligent and very well made cinema. If you’re after a grown-up, but not too taxing, night at the movies, this one is probably your best bet at the moment.
The simplest way to think of The Social Network is as a big screen Noughties descendent of Pirates of Silicon Valley, that highly acclaimed made-for-TV movie examining the rivalries between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, and the simultaneous development of the home computer.
Based on real life events, plot wise The Social Network is your pretty standard “rise to the top” movie laced with tech flavouring. We’ve seen the basic tale already in dozens of commerce-centric and gangster movies – a not especially nice guy protagonist, through a combination of ingenuity and sneakiness, rises from nobody-dom to the pinnacle of success. Along the way the “hero” attracts dubious business partners and alienates his closest friends, and in the end there is some kind of fall, normally as a direct result of the “hero’s” arrogance and insecurities.
The “hero” in The Social Network is Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) a nerdy Harvard undergraduate, who, in 2003, comes up with the idea for the ultimate social networking site after rejection by both his girlfriend (Rooney Mara, America’s soon-to-be Lisbeth Salander) and the campus’s powerful private social clubs. Zuckerberg is an interesting character – a genius who yearns for acceptance but whose apparent lack of social filters cause him to say very hurtful things to those closest to him. Zuckerberg doesn’t set out to be a bad guy but he certainly isn’t as socially well integrated and likeable as his best friend, aspirant businessman Eduardo Saverin (new Spider-Man Andrew Garfield).
It’s worth mentioning at this point that the cast of The Social Network includes some of the most intriguing members of under-30, up-and-coming Hollywood. Director David (Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) Fincher has assembled a very talented young cast. And special mention must go to Justin Timberlake, who’s probably the biggest surprise of the movie, oozing charisma as big-talking Napster founder Sean Parker.
Along with the good work of its cast, The Social Network is an unexpectedly and darkly funny movie. Some of the best lines belong to Armie Hammer as towering twin super-jocks and “Harvard gentlemen” Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. The Winklevosses are in fact the most amusing characters in the film – young men who have apparently never failed at anything in their lives, and are now utterly flummoxed when they’re outsmarted by a geek they won’t permit beyond their club’s entrance hall.
Given the film’s 120 minutes of enjoyable bouncing between boardrooms and debaucherous college behaviour, the only real failing of The Social Network is its very abrupt, unsatisfying ending. This said, the very final scene is perhaps my favourite in the entire movie – highlighting how one of the most popular social networking sites was born from the mind of one very lonely, self-isolating individual.
The Social Network doesn’t offer rip-roaring entertainment. However, it is thoughtful, intelligent and very well made cinema. If you’re after a grown-up, but not too taxing, night at the movies, this one is probably your best bet at the moment.
Comments
Niel, thanks for pointing out some of the differences between the film and RL. If I was Zuckerberg I'd be pretty peeved about how I was portrayed, and how events were altered purely for dramatic effect.
Brandon, I have much the same problem in that I find it hard to identify why exactly I enjoyed it. The events depicted and characters were all really interesting and I think that may have been enough to actually overcome the predictability of the plot.