The Social Network (2010)

The Social Network (2010)
by Eric Maus

"You have part of my attention - you have the minimum amount. The rest of my attention is back at the offices of Facebook, where my colleagues and I are doing things that no one in this room, including and especially your clients, are intellectually or creatively capable of doing."

  Whenever I see a movie that I wanted to like, but ended up despising, I usually leave the theater with this strange, sick feeling in my stomach. This occured many times in the year 2010. However, amongst the clusters of horrible movies that came from that year, there were also a few gems; lights in the darkness of hideous filmmaking. One of these was The Social Network.

   Many of us have a Facebook account, but most of us don't know the story behind the creation of the most popular website in the world. The Social Network (rated PG13 for sexual content and language) tells us that story. Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), is a punk genius attending Harvard. Zuckerberg is a bit of a loner; owing to the fact that he is arrogant, rude, and anti-social. Despite this, he is brilliant, especially when it comes to networking. When approached by fellow Harvard students, the wealthy Winklevoss twins, and asked for his assistance in creating a social networking site that would help to connect other Harvard students, Zuckerberg immediately accepts. Before the twins have any idea what has happened, Zuckerberg, with the help of his best and only friend Eduardo Saveren (Andrew Garfield), creates a Harvard networking site of his own, names it the Facebook, and launches it. The Winklevosses are enraged that he "stole" their idea, but don't act initially. With the guidance of former networker Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake), Zuckerberg is able to make Facebook a global networking system, and begins to rake in millions of dollars. After Eduardo realizes that his percentage of the company share has been reduced to 0.03%, he takes Zuckerberg to court, with the Winklevosses quickly doing the same.

   In the area of talented filmmaking, The Social Network is a masterpiece. Director David Fincher and the other members of the film crew knew what they were doing. From terrific cinematography to a unique and clever musical soundtrack, this movie definitely delivers. Jesse Eisenberg's role as Zuckerberg was just riveting; his performance was beyond excellant. The same can be said of Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake. Told via flashbacks from the court hearings, the plot unravels beautifully, as we watch the creation of Facebook , as well as Zuckerberg unknowingly creating a number of enemies. Small and brilliant metaphors throughout, although easy to miss, always point back to the message of this film, and that message is not difficult to dig out.

   If nothing else, we will be sure at the end of this film that Zuckerberg is a loser (kudos to Jesse Eisenberg and the brilliant dialogue written by Aaron Sorkin). Stuck in his own little world, he zips around in his dorky sandals, thinking only about how he can improve Facebook. In the process, many people around him, especially Eduardo, are left in the dust. He thinks of nothing but himself and his brainchild, the Facebook. He's a social misfit who can't carry on a conversation without leading it back to himself. Facebook, as we all know, is designed to help us connect with our friends; it's ironic that the man who was the brains behind it all couldn't connect with his own friends. He knew what people desired in a social network, but he couldn't put those things into practice in his own life. God created us as social beings; we love to be with our friends. What Zuckerberg didn't realize was that there is more to a relationship than mutual interests and goals, they are more than just business partnerships. Although, eventually, he ended up becoming the youngest billionaire alive, his friends became his enemies. And, without a shadow of a doubt, we know why. If the end goal is to satisfy yourself, you might end up pretty lonely, even if you were the inventor of Facebook.

   This film delivers what it set out to deliver, something the majority of films today fail to do. The Social Network deserved every award it won. Not only do we recieve the story behind the creation of our favorite networking site, topped with a great message, we also get these things wrapped in a shining package. Atleast there are some filmmakers out there who know what they're doing.