The Social Network

The Social Network (2010) is a Biographical Drama about the creator of the social networking site, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) and the enemies he made in the process. In the opening of the film, he's seen with his then-girlfriend, Erica Albright (Rooney Mara). He's selfish, incredibly intellegent- a fast-paced speaker- and rude to her. She breaks up with him. He goes home and drunkenly blogs about the bad aspects of Erica- such has her unideal bra size, and controversial family name change. At the same time, he creates a website called Facesmash, where he compares two photos of girls on campus to be rated based on their physical attractiveness. He hacks campus security in record time, and it's up. The site crashes the network, but not before it reaches 22,000 views. This reaches the attention of Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss (Armie Hammer), members of the row-team that Mark wishes he was good enough to join (or any well-standing fratboy scene of the like) who have been working on an idea for a Harvard dating website, exclusive to Harvard members. Mark agrees to help them. He proposes the idea to his good friend, Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield) for a social networking site linked to the same exclusiveness proposed by the twin Winklevoss brothers. The site is a huge success, and the Winklevossess are upset by this, claiming ownership to the idea, but one of them is timid about pursuing Mark on the subject, legally. As the popularity of Facebook explodes, it attracts more than members- creator of Napster, Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake) wants in on the project, and he easily impresses Mark, dividing a line between himself and business parter, and best friend, Eduardo. The film takes place at the same time as it nonlinearly shows us the lawsuits between Mark and the Winklevosses and Mark and Eduardo. And the question keeps coming up, how much of an asshole is Mark, really? And what will become of him- as the rest of us already know what is to become of Facebook.

This film is based on the biographical book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich. The screenplay was adapted by Aaron Sorkin, also known for his writing in the television show, The West Wing. It was directed by David Fincher, who has a great deal of good-filmmaking to his credit, but some of the most notable titles being Fight Club, Se7en, and Zodiac. The first cast member attached to the film was Jesse Eisenberg, who coincidentally has a cousin who works as a Facebook Product Designer. The opening scene between Mark and his then-girlfriend, Erica, reportedly took 99 takes to get perfect (and having heard the amount of witty banter and dialogue, and the pace with which it's spit out, I can understand why). The Winklevoss twins were both played by the same actor, with Josh Pence acting as the body double in the scenes where they are shown together- just about all of the scenes- and then Hammer's face was superimposed onto Pence's afterward. An interesting fact about the realness of the movie is that the designers spent a good deal of time on the wardrobe worn by Mark Zuckerberg, and made sure that each and every shirt, fleece, sandal ensamble he wears in the film was one that he actually owned in his real-life. However, Zuckerberg was not entirely happy with the film being based on him (as he's portrayed in a rather negative light) and does porport that the partying is amped up for dramatic effect, in the film, and that he did NOT create it having anything to do with women, but because he enjoyed building new things. This film is currently up for Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Directing, Best Editing, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, Best Adapted Screenplay, and more at the Academy Awards.

The soundtrack was done by the infamous NIN (Nine Inch Nails) musician, Trent Rezor, as well as Atticus Ross. The two musicians have already taken home the Golden Globe for Best Original Soundtrack, and are also nominated for the same at the upcoming Acamdemy Awards, as well as being nominated for Best Sound Mixing, going to Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick, and Mark Weingarten. Admittedly, this is my choice for both awards in both categories. The sound in this movie is superb- and it's not just because I have a thing for tasty singer/soundwriter/and-just-about-every-other-muscial-talent, Trent Reznor. It really is great- very mechanical, digital, and fitting to the subject matter.

For me, the most notable thing in this movie was definitely the dialogue. The spoken word has a powerful effect and command in this film, where it wouldn't neccessarily, normally. There are certain moments and scenerios for the film that stick with me, and I feel that the reason is the dialogue being said. This is partially credited to the actor speaking the words (in many instanes, Jesse Eisenburg), but it's mostly to the credit of the writer. Having not read the book, I cannot say which of the two credited writers wrote the words, but it's no surprise to me that this film is up for Best Achievement in Writing. It's punctuated, memorable, and witty without really being funny. Another reason I enjoyed this film was seeing a selfish, un-likeable quality so well-displayed by the Michael Cera look-alike, Jesse Eisenberg. I admit to being one of the people who link the two actors together, especailly after Eisenberg's performance in Zombieland. It seemed as though he might follow the same typecasting death as Cera did, however, I was happily surprised by the display of his range in this film. His performance is the second most memorable part of the experience, in my opinion. This film feels very contemporary- which is a duh since all of the events happen in or before 2003, but what I mean is that I see a lot of labels. Facebook (of course), Bank of America, GAP; the product placement doesn't stop, but it doesn't leave a bad taste. It simply feels contemporary- like passing a McDonalds on the way to school. It just... is.

It's hard to say whether or not I think this film is best film of the year. I loved the writing. I also really like Eisenburg for Best Actor, but I still need to see Javier Bardem in Biutiful, and Jeff Bridges in True Grit before I comit to that desicion fully. I also feel bad putting him above Franco for 127 Hours, but hey. This performance just sits more memorably with me. Maybe I watch too many thrillers, and that's why 127 Hours just didn't move me, but whatever the case, I'm putting Eisenberg before him. I would put the dialogue in this movie above Winter's Bone, Toy Story 3 and 127 Hours for SURE... but I still need to see True Grit before I vote it as the best. Best Film of the year... it wouldn't disappoint me, but I am still looking to Inception or The King's Speech on that one.

Still, I definitely reccomend this movie to just about anyone. The beauty of a drama is that it's marketable to everyone. There's no horror for the faint-of-heart. There's not a great deal of comedy for the serious audience, but there's enough for the younger crowd of fun-seekers. It's mature and easy to follow, but clearly brilliantly written. I definitely like it for several awards, if not Best Picture of the Year. Plus, Facebook has become a universal media outlet as we all use it. It's interesting to see how it came to be through the politics, perseverance, and betrayal. Whether you own a Facebook or not, it's an interesting story to see.