The Social Network
Release Date: October 1st 2010
Director: David Fincher
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer Justin Timberlake
When one thinks of the subjects on whom director David Fincher makes most of his movies on we think of murder, anti social behavior, true to life crimes and general dark subject matter. When I read in the winter of 2009 that David Fincher was doing a movie about the early years of Facebook, I stood up and shouted at my computer “Oh whoa to you Fincher you have betrayed me for the last time.” I mean come on this is the guy who has brought us some of the best work of nearly the last two decades. The director’s filmography includes Seven, Fight Club, Zodiac, and The Curious case of Benjamin Button. So after reading that this was the next thing he was going to be involved in I reserved myself to the idea that Fincher was about to go the way of many other great directors and just sell out and head into a spiral of mediocrity.
So a few months go by and nothing new comes from IMDB about the movie only that it's on time and will be done by October 1st.
Then the day came where I sat in Inception. The lights dimmed and as I began to watch a strange familiar song was piped in through the speakers. The song creep by the band Radiohead was being played but was being covered by what I would later find out was a Belgian girls choir. The images on the screen were that of posts on Facebook Random pictures and all together a mishmash that seemed to have nothing to do with the song. Then I saw a face appear it was that of actor Jesse Eisenberg typing away on a computer. The music continued to build as the events of the plot continued to unfold. All the time I was watching the trailer all that ran through my head was what is this movie and when the hell does it come out. The trailer finally hit its apex and the simple black screen with the white words “The Social Network” came up. I nearly lost it and realized that this was the David Fincher film I had been scoffing at all those months ago.
I got home from the movie and looked up the trailer again and the cast on Imdb. Besides Jesse Eisenberg who had been making the rounds as one of the more talented new comers of the cinematic world. The only other name I saw on the list was that of former teen heartthrob Justin Timberlake. It was at this that once again I bellowed at my computer “Oh Dam you Fincher and your poor choice of casting.” So the months passed and the summer came and went and a few things made note worthy entries into the 2010 year of movies. Then all of a sudden it was October 1st and I was sitting with a good friend waiting for the string of terrible previews to end so we could see if the movie we had been promised in the trailer was going to deliver.
To say that Fincher knows how to make a dark subject out of anything is one hundred percent true and a testament to these abilities as a director and as a storyteller. The film begins on Mark Zuckerberg (Eisenberg) and his girlfriend Erica Albright (Rooney Mara) talking about how it is important for Mark to get into a Finals club so he can advance himself further up the social ladder. As the conversation rolls along at a break neck pace you see that Mark is slowly losing her in the conversation not because she is slow but because of how fast his mind is moving. Mark says the wrong thing and she storms out breaking up with him. Mark returns home to this dorm and out of spite and maybe a little too much beer begins to blog and concoct a plan to make a website that takes all the girls at Harvard and rate them against each other. Mark and his friends along with Eduardo (Andrew Garfield) end up crashing the Harvard server at 2 am and that is where the movie begins. Mark is later approached by two brothers both played wonderfully and differently by (Armie Hammer) who explain to them their idea of creating a website for Harvard men to get dates. Mark takes the idea and runs with it making his own website which eventually becomes Facebook. Now the story moves along and does a nice transition of back and forth from when the website was in its early years to the legal proceedings that are taking place over how much Mark is going to have to pay out to the people who are suing him.
Now to talk about why this film is one of the top ten films of the year is very simple. The movie has engaged people who have Facebook accounts and those who want nothing to do with Facebook. I have seen the film twice and it is really a movie where not much happens and the entire film is relying solely on dialogue. So if you are going to have a movie where you need dialogue that is razor sharp you best turn to one of the better writers of this century for film and Television. Aaron Sorkin who has been writing some of the best drama most notably a good chunk of the “West Wing” has penned this amazing script and is as smart as anything I’ve seen this week. What Sorkin has done for the drama is he has turned the dialogue into an action film. I mean in the sense of that every line of the script is quotable and you can call back after several days of seeing it. This is a masterful script and I would not be surprised if the screenplay doesn’t only get nominated but wins for adapted screenplay. The script is based on a book entitled “The Accidental Billionaires”. I have been told that the book is based in speculation and as far as I’m concerned speculation makes a dam entertaining movie.
Now to speak about the acting in this movie one word I would use is astounding. Fincher has gathered a talented group of young actors and given them a script in which they can chew the scenery with. Eisenberg who I am convinced is going to be the next Joseph Gordon Levitt is amazing as the lead character and how he portrays this angry brilliant young man. Garfield is equally brilliant as the cofounder of Facebook and Eisenberg’s only friend. Now as for Mr. Timberlake I have to say that the words I wrote at the first half of this article on how I was worried he would wreck this movie for me and I’m here now to say that I would love to eat those words. Justin Timberlake steals the show and he comes in about nearly half of the way through. He is so charismatic as the founder of Napster Sean Parker. Timberlake has proved that with the right script and director this guy can be an actor.
The score to this film is also rather good coming from Trent Reznor from Nine Inch nails and Atticus Ross. It is a wonderful and simple score that never overpowers but certainly doesn’t back down.
Well if I have to say one thing it was that I was wrong from day one about this film it is one of the finest films of the year and certainly in my top 10 if not top 5. So to sum it all up David Fincher has created a masterpiece worthy of any top ten list and award show this year. What I think I have heard said best about the film is that David Fincher hires people who he knows can do the job so when its time to work he doesn’t have to worry about the job getting done. This is the mark of a talented director and a man who knows what he wants to see on the screen when the final cut is made.
The Social Network 4/4 stars
Truer Words were Never Printed
Until we meet again I'm hoping you dug the post and hoping you dig a little bit past the romantic comedy section in your video store.
BDK
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