The Social Network has the two things required to make a great movie. A spectacular cast doing their best work and a flawless script that keeps the audience engaged. The script is by writer/producer Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, A Few Good Men, The American President, Charlie Wilson's War) based on the book The Accidental Millionaires by Ben Mezrich. The cast includes Jessie Eisenberg in an Oscar worthy performance as a brilliant, smug, anti-social computer genius, Justin Timeberlake as Napster inventor Sean Parker, Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin the co-founder of Facebook and Armie Hammer in the dual role of the Winklevoss brothers, founders of Harvard Connection.
The movie is about the founding of Facebook and the explosion of social networking in the last decade. Mark Zuckerberg was a sophomore at Harvard University where he created a site called Facemash where male students could rate female students, much like Hot or Not. His site received 22,000 hits in 4 hours and crashed the Harvard computer network. This event led to the creation of The Facebook a social network for Harvard student. Zuckerberg created the network with dorm buddies Eduardo Severin, who supplied the cash, Dustin Moskovitz (Joseph Mazzello) and Chris Hughes (Patrick Mapel). Before creating The Facebook Zuckerberg had been approached by upper class-man Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra (Max Minghella) to help create their idea of a social network Harvard Connection. When Zuckerberg launches his own site instead they are prepared to sue.
Saverin is the new CFO of The Facebook and he is wary of the influence of Napster found Sean Parker has over Zuckerberg. Parker's smooth talking and instant connection with Mark leaves causes Saverin to take steps that endanger his future with the company.
The film opens with a scene in a bar between Zuckerberg and his girlfriend Erica Albright (Rooney Mara). Everything we need to know about Zuckerberg's social awkwardness, smugness and brilliance we learn in this scene. When Albright breaks up with him everything that follows comes from the pain of rejection and the desire to win her back. The movie then begins to cut back and forth between the depositions Zuckerberg had to participate in due to the multiple lawsuits filed against him and the events detailed in the deposition that led up to the creation of Facebook.
Eisenberg shines as the anti-hero. You don't really like him, but you don't dislike him either. You just except him for who he is. His best friend Eduardo is the person the audience roots for and suffers with has his friendship with Mark is slowly destroyed. And Justin Timberlake makes the most of his role as Parker. This film allows us to see exactly how talented an actor Timberlake is.
The combination of virtuoso director David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin have created a film that is extremely watchable. In a way it reminded me of All The president's Men, in the way it takes a well known event that everyone knows the ending too, and creates a piece of enthralling fiction.
Be prepared for The Social Network to be nominated for multiple Oscars and it may just sweep the awards.
At The Movie House rating **** stars
No comments:
Post a Comment