The Social Network [M]

One night a young man has an idea. He pitches this idea to his best friend and his friend agrees to take on the project with him. Together they founded Facebook. But all too soon they learn they have bitten of more than they can chew as they find themselves in the middle of two major court cases. 

Winning the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Achievement in Film Editing, The Social Network is a perfectly crafted and balanced film that had absolutely everything going for it. Based on true events and dealing with a subject that practically everyone in the world can relate to or at least knows all about, it’s definitely one of the best films out of 2010 and has secured its place in my collection. 

Upon getting dumped by his girlfriend, Mark Zuckerberg, goes home to wallow in self pity and, whilst slightly intoxicated, he performs an incredible internet feat that causes quite a stir amongst the security experts. One night after that he approaches his best friend Eduardo with an idea and Eduardo aggress that the idea is utter brilliance and that they should do the project together. Together, they founded Facebook. But all too soon they realise that they have bitten off more than they could chew as the site rapidly increases in popularity and they find themselves in the middle of two major court cases. It has to be said that you don’t make five million friends without making some enemies. 

Things that held my attention in this movie:  

The soundtrack: it was delightfully different and refreshingly original. A complete triumph. 

The screenplay and script were magnificently crafted, like watching a glazier at his work. They made the film clever, cunning, manipulative, dramatic, and just all around perfect. It was very intellectual and very deserving of the Academy Award. What was particularly interesting about the film was the way that it was written. The film jumps from past to present to past to present and, although sometimes it’s a little hard to keep track of which court case you’re watching, once you get used to the consistent jumping forward and then backtracking, it becomes completely engaging as you work out the central drama in the courtroom. 

As far as performances go, there were two that stood out for me. 

Jesse Eisenberg stars as Mark Zuckerberg and he was absolutely brilliant. Not dissimilar to Shia LaBeouf and Vince Vaughn, his ability to clearly articulate and annunciate an enormous amount of clever and intelligent words in the space of 1 minute is incredible and not of this earth. He played the part with a coolness that held your attention the entire time. By coolness, I mean that throughout the entire film, you could not see the cogs in his mind working. You never knew how he was going to react to something or even what type of emotional response he had to something. He was absolutely amazing to watch, like observing a really rare and magnificent animal. 

Andrew Garcia stars as Eduardo and his was the performance that provided the film with its drama and emotional depth. The confusion and torment that his character endures was beautifully conveyed and I have to say that he was incredibly suave and attractive. I have a new actor to add to my list of favourites. 

Starring Rooney Mara, Bryan Barter, Brenda Song, Armie Hammer (in a dual role), and Justin Timberlake, The Social Network was an amazingly and intelligently crafted film that was filled with drama (both financial and emotional), betrayal, fun, geniuses, ideas, and the internet. It was absolutely fantastic!!!