‘The Social Network’

Director: David Fincher

Starring:Jesse Eisenberg, Rooney Mara, Justin Timberlake

5/5 popcorns

 

A very modern fable of obsession, greed and loneliness, ‘The Social Network’ may be the only film that belongs to this specific generation and is destined to become timeless. A story that easily could have unfolded into a kitschy joke is rendered thoroughly haunting and devastating: less a commentary on the influence of the Internet than a portrait of one disgruntled and vengeful soul.

 

Just as ‘Citizen Kane’ is not about a journalism titan’s influence on the publishing world, ‘The Social Network’ is not about the contributions Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) made to cyberspace. Like ‘Citizen Kane,’ ‘The Social Network’ is a depiction of a man who had everything and nothing at once, a man whose insecurities and anger revealed the darkest side of the American Dream.

 

The audience is told, through two separate depositions, that students claimed Zuckerberg stole their idea for a social networking website called Harvard Connection. In an attempt to attract the attention of one of the exclusive Harvard clubs he is desperate to join, Zuckerberg puts his own spin on an idea for the website that the plaintiffs in the court case, brothers Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss (Armie Hammer) and Divya Narendra (Max Minghella), had asked for his help with.   

 

Unsatisfied with their business model, Zuckerberg takes the idea to his best friend, the business-savvy Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), to create a similar website called The Facebook. Just three years later, with the help of Napster founder Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake), Zuckerberg was crowned the world’s youngest billionaire at age 23.

 

Zuckerberg’s motivation to create an empire is the most bewitching aspect of the picture; Zuckerberg’s rise to power is born from a feeling of inadequacy that evolves into an all-consuming social delirium. It is only when he discovers that he doesn’t belong anywhere — not even in the sea of the 500 million people he brought together — that the drama’s scope comes into focus.

 

Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and director David Fincher assert that Zuckerberg merely wanted to be good enough for one of the clubs at Harvard and to prove his ex-girlfriend wrong. That insatiable desire transforms him into one of the greatest screen villains in a long while.

 

The success of most great films is generally attributed to the director, though ‘The Social Network’ is mainly Sorkin’s achievement. The dialogue is simply peerless, dictating the pace, rhythm and feel of the film more so than Fincher’s direction. The writing is downright thrilling, as the characters speak quickly and fluently to create a feeling of exhilaration that only a true master could achieve, creating a sense of wonderment that is just as gripping as a pristinely choreographed action sequence. Sorkin’s story line is also quite complex, structured in a unique manner that seamlessly melds differing perspectives and constantly yields new pleasures.

 

It is probably fitting that the first scene in ‘The Social Network,’ a conversation between Zuckerberg and his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend, Erica Albright (Rooney Mara), required 99 takes to perfect. The scene is perfectly indicative of the obsessive nature that shrouds the picture and is a fine distillation of Fincher’s method. Fincher’s rigorous compositions are often transfixing, utilizing deep-focus photography and typically dim lighting to create a fascinating atmosphere.

 

While Sorkin and Fincher have, rightfully, been showered with praise, Jesse Eisenberg has been seemingly overlooked. Without Eisenberg’s tremendous performance, the film would lack its brooding intensity and its spontaneity.

 

As for Mark Zuckerberg, he’s the heart and soullessness of Fincher’s triumph.

smlittma@syr.edu

 

Published on October 6, 2010 at 12:00 pm