"The Social Network"

By Matt Duncan
Coastal View News

In late 2003, on the storied campus of Harvard University, after a bad breakup and several beers, Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) began what would eventually become a multi-billion dollar social networking website called ‘Facebook’. Just seven years later, “The Social Network”, a movie concerning history in the making, chronicles the rise of Zuckerberg and Facebook. Its combination of great directing and even greater writing make “The Social Network” a must-see movie—one of the best of the year.

Far from a romantic inception, the spite-driven, alcohol-fueled epiphany that eventually leads to Facebook is at first nothing more than a website that allows students to compare and rate the attractiveness of Harvard’s female population. Zuckerberg thus gets his first taste of the spotlight, as his original idea, base as it is, quickly draws the attention of both the Harvard student population and the university’s administration.

Despite a hateful onslaught from bitter co-eds and angry deans, Zuckerberg’s whim pays dividends, as two popular and well-connected students—twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (Armie Hammer and Josh Pence, respectively)—approach Zuckerberg with a business proposal. The Winklevoss brothers ask Zuckerberg to design a social networking website specifically for the students of Harvard University. Unlike MySpace and other social networking sites, the Winklevoss’ proposal puts a premium on status and exclusivity.

Zuckerberg agrees to work with the Winklevoss brothers, but soon thereafter begins building his own website based on the idea that he was given. With the help of his best friend, Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), Zuckerberg constructs, tweaks and launches “The Facebook”. The Facebook is an instant success, drawing thousands of hits and requests, and calling for immediate expansion. In near no time, The Facebook is on college campuses across the country and Zuckerberg is the talk of Harvard.

However, the silver lining quickly begins to fade as the Winklevoss storm cloud gathers. Before too long, Zuckerberg finds himself amidst legal turmoil and, worse still, his extremely narrow focus causes his relationship with Saverin to fray. Zuckerberg finds comfort in the encouragement and friendship of Napster creator, Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake), but he quickly discovers that the attainment of a million online friends may have cost him more than one real friend.

“The Social Network” is a delight to watch. The story, the drama, the acting, the writing, the wit and the humor work perfectly in concert to give substance and style to a story in the making. Director David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin make a marvelously quirky film, as each scene brims with frenetic imagery and dialogue.

One might not expect it, but it is somehow enthralling to watch Zuckerberg and Saverin “geek out” over immensely complicated bits of code, programs and algorithms, all while jabbering at a rate that outstrips the expressive power of ordinary English. Aaron Sorkin is truly impressive in his ability to maintain the audience’s interest with dialogue that takes place on an extremely technical level and at a very fast pace. Instead of watering complex ideas down to the level of mere mortals, Sorkin embraces esotericism, showing that a topic can be interesting—downright fascinating—even if you don’t understand it.

Jesse Eisenberg fits his smart-aleck role perfectly, and the rest of the cast (including Justin Timberlake) play their parts admirably. “The Social Network” is rich in plot and character development, and has the added virtue of managing to be both synoptic and relevant. We’re just lucky that a friend request is not required for admission.