Review The Social Network

When David Fincher, a filmmaker who indulges himself portraying anti social behavior as witnessed in his early body of work such as Se7en (1995), Fight Club (1999) or the recent serial killer in Zodiac (2007) was chosen to direct The Social Network, the film is at the top of my must-see list of 2010. The result is beyond my expectation. This is the best picture of 2010.

The Social Network was adapted by Aaron Sorkin based on successful Accidental Millionaire: The Tale of Money, Sex, and Betrayal. It tells the story behind the early founding of the most renowned social networking website, Facebook. From the story we know that the term was coined based on a simple webpage Mark Zuckerberg (played by the brilliant Jesse Eisenberg) built in fall of 2003 in Harvard University to ask the visitors to choose girls based on their look. He was upset having being dumped by his girlfriend due to his constantly obnoxious attitude. He was warned by the university board, but his act caught the attention of other Harvard students who planned to hire him building a social networking website. Instead of taking the job, he secretly built his own with the funding from his roommate, Eduardo Saverin (played by Andrew Garfield). The first launch of the website was restrictive only for some ivy league schools, but with the help of Sean Parker (played by Justin Timberlake), the website move forward to become one of the greatest social networking website: a multibillion company which make Zuckerberg the youngest billionaire in history, and he did it accidentally. The Gung ho surrounding the thriving company was even escalated with some people from earlier time suing Mark for stealing their idea, and even Saverin sued him due to cutting off his share. The prosecution and the deposition of Zuckerberg marks the third act of the picture.

The movie is all dialogue, but they are never tedious or tiresome. The reason is twofold. First the screenplay by Aaron Sorkin was so brilliant, that we as audiences were time-travelled to witness the history behind Facebook with all actors playing straight, all of whom has their smartest dialogue in cinema since Pulp Fiction (1994) or Good Will Hunting (1997). Second, director David Fincher was able to wrap up this potentially boring movie to move in a fast pace that even a seemingly simple premise like this feels like heart pumping thriller. For the sake of goodness, I think he should win his overdue Best Director award for this directorial effort. Jesse Eisenberg is my pick for the best actor this year. His fast talking persona and nerd looking quality along with great attitude made him the best choice to portray Zuckerberg. Justin Timberlake also plays a strong Sean Parker which according to some source, the real Sean Parker is exactly portrayed by Timberlake on screen. All and all, I think The Social Network should at least scores nomination for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay in the dawn of Oscar nomination announcement coming January 2011.

“The Social Network” a Columbia Pictures release is rated PG-13 for sexual content, drug and alcohol use and language. Four stars out of Four (A)