Review by Spencer Gordon
Photo provided by The Social Network

Smart pop culture cinema.
Sure, some people might think this term doesn’t exist for there is a population of people that believe in order for a film to be labeled “smart” it needs all the aspects of Hollywood removed from the equation. In some regards this is true. Films such as Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and The Matrix Revolutions are examples of Hollywood using its influence to so call “dumb down” intellectual film stories. This is also the reason why so many films seem similar to other films. For example Ben Affleck’s The Town feels very like his 2007 film Gone Baby Gone. However, this year Hollywood has somewhat broken away from the “dumb down” pattern by presenting Christopher Nolan’s Inception earlier this year and, more recently, David Fincher’s The Social Network.
The Social Network presents us with many different storylines that have been expertly crafted together. There is the story of how Mark Zuckerberg (Eisenberg) created the phenomenon known as Facebook, but interwoven with that is the story of why five years later his ex-best friend Eduardo (Garfield) and three Harvard University club members are now suing him for millions of dollars.
The film begins in 2003 by introducing Mark on a date with his then girlfriend Erica (Rooney Mara). The date turns into a disaster as the socially awkward Mark begins an interrogation of Erica which eventually ends by Erica calling him an asshole and walking out. Mark returns to his dorm, sips a few beers and then starts his unique nerdy grieving process by blogging about how much of a bitch Erica is. During his blogging session, he creates a coded website that takes Harvard girls’ photos and places them on a website where students can go and vote for whoever they think is hotter. The site got so popular that it crashed the servers.
Although he had to go to a board of a review and receive strict punishment, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (both played by Armie Pence) with their friend Divya (Max Minghella) recruit Mark to help create a type of social networking site that, to the modern version of Facebook, is quite juvenile. Mark agrees to help them only to disregard all of their emails and create a more sophisticated website on his own with his best friend Eduardo. Needless to say when he finally creates it, “The Facebook” explodes in popularity. Finally discovering Mark’s plan all along when it’s too late, Divya and the Winklevoss twins begin to craft a way to get back at Mark. Eventually this leads to a legal suit.
The smart script by The West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin keeps the movie moving at a steady pace with great dialogue and intelligent characters. Still, it’s the actors’ performances that make the film. Never again will I compare Jesse Eisenberg to Michael Cera (Superbad, Juno). His performance was the best I have seen since Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds. Eisenberg’s portrayal was crafted so meticulously that Mark is able to create a sense of empathy in one scene but then hatred in the next. You get the feeling that Mark has a heart but his intelligence precedes any regard to another person’s feelings which causes us to hate him, but at the same time respect his IQ.
Garfield’s performance of Eduardo, Mark’s best friend, is solid as well. He provides a great counter personality to Mark and helps bring him down to earth, while at the same time fall victim to Mark’s intelligence. Then there’s Justin Timberlake who plays Napster creator Sean Parker. If Eduardo tries to bring Mark down to earth, Sean tries to take him into space. Sean is hell bent for retribution from his past failures and so needs Mark to succeed with Facebook. Timberlake provides a good performance, but he isn’t as crafted an actor as the rest of the cast and it shows; even though it was Sean Parker the character, I still viewed him as a cocky Timberlake. Luckily, this wasn’t too distracting seeing as they are almost the same person.
The Social Network looks and feels very modern. Fincher was able to bring out the best performances possible from an incredibly young cast, while Sorkin’s script makes the audience believe they are actually there. The score feels new and empowering plus the lighting creates a gritty world that looks and feels so modern.
The Social Network is about the importance of our generation and how it can make a difference; thankfully, the film is just as exceptional as the theme. It truly understands how amazing social networking and young entrepreneurship really is while at the same time takes the emotions and experiences of someone from our generation and showcases it beautifully. Click “Like” for The Social Network.

Grade: A+ for great performances by the leads, intelligent directing by Fincher, a fast and smart script by Sorkin, and a story for our generation.

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What’s Not to Like About ‘The Social Network’?