The Social Network

The Social Network is definitely the best movie released in 2010 so far. Working from a highly literate and witty script by Aaron Sorkin, based on the book The Accidental Billionaires, by Ben Mezrich, David Fincher directs the story of how 19 year old Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook in his dorm room at Harvard in the fall of 2003. The website would of course go on to be the largest social networking site in existence, currently boasting 500 million members and making him one of the world's youngest billionaires. The movie suggests that Zuckerberg was a genius, but also an arrogant and antisocial misfit, a guy who paradoxically "didn't have 3 friends to rub together," yet built a site that was based on collecting as many as possible online.  The real Mark Zuckerberg is apparently worried that the version of him presented onscreen will forever cement his image in the mind of the public; in the last few weeks i've heard more about the guy than i ever have before, as he's very publicly donated $100 million to the New Jersey public school system, been extensively profiled by The New Yorker to refute the image of himself as friendless and mean, and guest voice-acted on The Simpsons.

     The movie itself is perfectly paced and beautifully directed, but the real star of the film is Sorkin's script, which was apparently over 200 pages of dialogue, condensed into exactly two hours onscreen. It flows really well and the cast effortlessly delivers his zingers with perfect pitch. Jesse Eisenberg is especially good as Mark, believable in his every action and inspiration, while conveying that slightly autistic sense of focus displayed by the real Zuckerberg. The cast also includes Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker, the founder of Napster, and Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Facebook and Mark's only friend. Both convey a natural screen presence and sense of charisma, surprisingly so in JT's case (in my opinion). The film is structured around depositions of lawsuits against Mark, and we get the founding of Facebook through flashbacks and different perspectives, Rashomon-style. Fincher handles the scenes set at Harvard especially well, as the audience is completely absorbed into the world of elite privilege and Ivy League undergrads. Mark Zuckerberg after all, was certainly no Will Hunting from the wrong side of the tracks, who had to work his way up from nothing. He was born into existing wealth, refused a job at Microsoft after graduating high school in order to attend Harvard, and was still made to feel like an outsider when faced with the exclusive and secretive collegiate clubs that refused him entrance. 

    I expect TSN to receive multiple Oscar nods this year, including Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing, and possibly a couple of acting noms as well (my money's on Garfield, as Eduardo is the only character in the film to elicit any sympathy from the audience). It's a perfect reflection of society and the way we live today, and highly recommended.