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The Social Network (2010)

Director: David Fincher

Time Out rating

Average user rating

22 reviews

Synopsis

Fincher tackles the story of the founders of the social-networking website, Facebook.

Movie review

From Time Out London

Director David Fincher (‘Fight Club’, ‘Zodiac’) and writer Aaron Sorkin (‘The West Wing’, ‘A Few Good Men’) have made a mischievous, scaremongering tale about the origins of Facebook that combines the talky rigour of Sorkin’s writing with the spooky crispness of Fincher’s imagery.

It launches us headfirst into an intense exchange between two students, Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) and his girlfriend Erica (Rooney Mara), sitting in a Harvard bar, opposite each other, nursing beers. You can hardly call it a conversation. She speaks smartly and normally; he avoids eye- contact, talks through her, responds selectively and, when the chat doesn’t go his way, needily asks: ‘Is this real?’

It’s a brilliant scene: on its own because it says so much about the filmmakers’ spin on Facebook founder Zuckerberg and the limits of interaction that his invention seeks to plaster over, and in the context of the work as a whole because it tells us straightaway that this is a film about a creeping void between people, whether or not they’re lovers, enemies, business partners or Facebook friends. It’s a savvy prologue to a story of how a perfect storm of social inadequacy, Ivy League exclusivity and computing genius inspired a global phenomenon.

The film makes its case instantly that Zuckerberg is a social disaster and sticks to that line as it moves from the wood-pannelled college dorms and snowy cloisters of Massachusetts to the trendy bars and hip offices of Palo Alto, CA. We meet Zuckerberg as he develops various student sites until he hits on TheFacebook.com, which he runs with friend Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), who is more suave, less awkward and the bridge between Zuckerberg and Harvard’s exclusive student clubs – a world from which he feels bitterly excluded.

As Facebook grows, Zuckerberg moves to California, seduced by the real-world, nerd-made-good charms of Napster’s founder, Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake, smart casting), who offers Zuckerberg informal membership of another club, a world of investors by day and parties by night. Not that Zuckerberg is a party animal; he just likes to feel part of something, like Facebook users, browsing photos for vicarious pleasure.

Eisenberg gives a storming performance as Zuckerberg, complementing his geeky clothes (hoodies, flip-flops) with a perma-deadpan voice, wildly roving eyes and a jolty physical presence. He’s full of contradictions: socially awkward but confident; ignorant of commerce but ruthless in business.

Essentially, the film is a series of flashbacks built around more recent legal shenanigans: the two depositions that resulted from accusations that, firstly, Saverin was unfairly ousted from Facebook and, secondly, that Zuckerberg stole his idea from two Harvard contemporaries, the Vinklevoss twins (Armie Hammer eerily plays both). These meetings, and Zuckerberg’s unco-operative presence at them, give the film a sober framework, but otherwise it’s a chronological tale, fast, furious and funny.

There’s no escaping that ‘The Social Network’ sticks the knife into Zuckerberg and milks for all it’s worth the irony of a disconnected soul connecting the world. We should be cautious and remember this is Fincher and Sorkin’s spin on the truth, grounded in fact but stretched and moulded to suit their themes. But what makes the film more than a witty, well-performed hatchet job that’s plugged cynically into the technological zeitgeist is that, despite the fun of the parties, the intrigue of the legal wranglings and the humour of the dialogue, Fincher and Sorkin never let us forget that we’re complicit in their story (or at least 500 million of us are). If, as the film argues, Zuckerberg’s values are mirrored in Facebook, what does that say about us? If we jab our finger too wildly at Zuckerberg, all we’ll get is a very sore eye.

Author: Dave Calhoun

Time Out London Issue 2095: 14 – 20 October, 2010

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User reviews of this film

cm said...

Posted on Feb 28 2011 23:34 nicely cast but rather dull film; a well known story choc-full of cliches and name dropping. clumsy.

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Thomas Noctor said...

Posted on Feb 26 2011 13:02 What an idiot Mark is, a sneeky back stabber! Onto the film, too much hype, lazy ending, would have liked to see the court proceedings instead of just reading about it at the end. Good performance from Justin Timberlake but the film was a bit boring and went off track a bit at times, if there was no hype then maybe this could have got a 3 from Me, but the disapointment yet again of an over hyped movie gives it a 1!

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John Cooper said...

Posted on Jan 17 2011 00:39 This film has been well received by film critics . . it's a very cerebral film .. as are most film critics . . . the main characters are nerds .. . as are most film critics . ..
so you have to take this in account when reading reviews. That said, it is an engrossing film which gets
to grips with the originators of facebook, . . .and effectively takes you into the WASP world of Harvard in Boston USA
where Eisenberg gives a convincing performance as
the head-centred computer genius Zuckerberg, descibed
as an `asshole` ( with some justification ) in the opening scene. This is an extremely intelligent film,
and quite a head-trip, although the director throws in
some shapely interns as groupies for the fast-fingered
computer geeks, What is interesting about this film
is its spin on the power games and legal wranglings
of the main protagonists . . .. and its refusal to set
any moral parameters for its anti-heroes . . . Zuckerberg
makes some progress . . . but at the end of the film . .
is still `an asshole` ( albeit a very rich asshole) Definitely worth seeing, but too narrow in its scope to
be the great film that some film critics would have you believe.

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okjohn said...

Posted on Nov 09 2010 09:51 I think this film beautifully demonstrates the 'Happy Accident', the 'Visiion', the 'Courage', the 'Sheer Grit' and the 'Energy, Passion and Sheer Determination' needed to become 'hugely successful'. I ABSOLUTELY loved it.
Everyone always marvels at the huge sums of money involved, but that isn't the point of this film at all, any more than getting a perfect '10' would matter to someone who has just ridden out the biggest wave of his life...MARVELLOUS!

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Oliver said...

Posted on Nov 07 2010 03:56 Great review and fantastic performances from Eisenberg and Timberlake.

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ALFREDO said...

Posted on Oct 29 2010 20:10 IT'S NOT EASY TO MAKE A ZEITGEIST MOVIE. AND IT DOESN'T GET MORE ZEITGEIST THAT WHEN THE SUBJECT IS ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKING. THAT WAS INDEED A CHALLENGE. BUT DAVID FINCHER KNEW HOW TO DEAL WITH IT AND THE RESULT IS A VERY GOOD MOVIE. AND AN EDUCATIONAL ONE TOO. WE DIDN'T KNOW, AMONG MANY OTHER THINGS, THAT MR. ZUCKERGERG WAS SUCH AN INSIPID CHARACTER FOR INSTANCE. BUT REALITY IS ALWAYS LESS GLAMOROUS THAN FICTION. THAT WE KNOW.

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kelly said...

Posted on Oct 27 2010 13:24 i havent yet watchd da flim i am goin to watch in tonight wid ma nieces and nephews i hope we dont get bored bu is it alright 4 kids lyk is it borin?? :)

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heyman29323 said...

Posted on Oct 22 2010 16:29 Oh yeah, and the review of the movie: If anyone gets to the ending and are not affected by the sure power of it, well I don't think movies are your medium.

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heyman29323 said...

Posted on Oct 22 2010 16:26 The best review I read so far. You get right to the heart of it at every level of analysis

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critique said...

Posted on Oct 22 2010 11:03 A story well told but a story which didn`t hold my attention.

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Josh said...

Posted on Oct 19 2010 13:38 This movie has to be part documentary (and part movie). It's based on a true story about people still alive. Given they thought nothing of starting legal action against former friends/business partners, this movie has been scruitinised by many lawyers - including Sony's Pictures legal team - I heard a guy from the movie talking about it on the radio. This story and the times/dates/general facts/sums of money/etc all have to be accurate. But it's very well done. As for the humour, it's there. I'm not sure it could be billed as a comedy, but it's funny in places - Zuckerberg's consistently inappropriate dress sense spring to mind (flip-flops in the snow, shorts in winter, etc), as does the zip line and the chimney. MZ is portrayed as extremely articulate. The photography's very good without trying to be too clever.

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scrumpyjack said...

Posted on Oct 18 2010 20:06 Fascinating story, Great performances. Very Good. 7+/10

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iLikeMovies said...

Posted on Oct 18 2010 05:23 At JohnBailey, Sean Parker was the co-founder of Napster. Both Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker founded it. He was also involved with other things, but(like in the movie), he was too reckless. He partied too hard, and it killed his ability to work consistently. I would also like to point out that the film isn't a documentary. It's a movie, meant to entertain the viewers.
Anyway, on to my review. The writing, directing, and acting were all great. The movie was really dramatic, which is good, but it could've used a bit of comedy. In fact, I went to the movie expecting to see Eisenberg and Timberlake joke around most of the time.
However, like I said, the film is dramatic. It won't make you laugh much(if at all), but it will definitely make you think and it will definitely be one of the best movies you'll see for awhile.

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JohnBailey said...

Posted on Oct 17 2010 16:46 After all the hype all I can say is what a disappointing yarn. With all the different perspectives, dramatic license, and misrepresentation, I kind of gave up. And another thing who's Sean Parker, Napster was invented by Shawn Fanning.

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very happy film-goer said...

Posted on Oct 17 2010 13:36 This is a fantastic film - it's complex and funny, and sad even. Performances are so believable, and the music is perfect, the way the story is constructed with the two legal cases and the flashbacks really works, I got so absorbed watching this the first time that I went back and saw it again the next day - and it was still totally absorbing and interesting. Bizarrely convincing special effects too - if I hadn't known it was the same actor playing both twins (from the neck up) I'd have thought it was two people. Amazingly done. Great film. Five stars.

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