When the film was first announced, people had thought that Fincher had lost his mind, why would he want to make a film about Facebook. No one got it at all (especially me), everyone was suspicious of this film. It wasn’t until the fantastic (and quite original) trailers started coming out, that people realized why this was something Fincher was willing to take on. “The Social Network” is about the creation and rise of “Facebook”, but it is also about friends and how they turned against and stole from each other once the idea became the huge phenomenon it is today and worth literally billions of dollars.
The irony of the story is that it is about friendships dissolving over a website they created together that promotes friendship. With these friendships destroyed forever and lawsuits coming from all directions, this was obviously great dramatic stuff, and it becomes obvious why a director like Fincher would be interested in making a film about “Facebook”. History has proven his decision a great one too, because “The Social Network” is almost universally loved and as of this writing, has picked up more nominations than any other film during the awards season. Not surprisingly either because this is an expertly made film with everything coming together and complementing each other so well.
Jesse Eisenberg plays Mark Zuckerberg, the main creator of “Facebook”, and his performance is simply magnificent and is a star-making performance. Often described as a poor-man’s Michael Cera, he has certainly destroyed that notion with this role that is so much darker and complex than he usually plays. Andrew Garfield plays Eduardo Saverin, the other co-creator of “Facebook” who put up the initial money to get the project off the ground, only to be manipulated out of his share of the company when it became successful. He is also excellent in his role, as he is required to portray the moral decency of the film. Never once throughout the film does he try to backstab anyone else or take what he has not earned or deserved. In fact, even when he is suing Mark, he only wants what is rightfully his, and does so with dignity (I guess in simple terms, he is the “hero” of this film to Mark Zuckerberg’s “anti-hero”).
In the small but pivotal role of Mark’s ex-girlfriend is Rooney Mara, and she really impressed me a lot. Her screen time is limited but the power of her work means that you never forget her. Before this role I had only seen her in the “Nightmare On Elm Street” remake, where she played the main protagonist, Nancy, and I thought she was so bland and lifeless. To be honest, I thought she was terrible, and then David Fincher announced her as the lead in his “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” remake and I thought he had lost his mind (again). There was no way that this girl could pull of the demanding role of Lisbeth Salander. As soon as I saw her in “The Social Network”, my fears dissipated because it was obvious that the girl had a lot of talent, and that she just needed a strong director to get it out of her.
Speaking of that strong director, David Fincher once again proves that he is one of the best directors working in Hollywood today. That said he is something of a perfectionist, and apparently a very hard task master, so much so that the classic first scene of the film took 99 takes until Fincher was satisfied. Interestingly, in a very recent interview with Fincher, he talks about how “The Social Network” is nothing special in his eyes. He believes that he has done good work with it, but doesn’t believe it is generation defining as some critics have claimed, and that he much prefers his work on both “Fight Club” and “Zodiac”. He even defined those two as films, while “The Social Network” as a movie. Personally, I find that such a fascinating insight into the guy.
Anyway, talk about this film can not be done without mentioning the true star and that is Aaron Sorkin’s amazing screenplay. It is clearly the best screenplay of the year, and will no doubt win him the Oscar, as it is so rich and layered and I’m sure that it is an actor’s dream. Speaking of the actors, they deliver Sorkin’s lines in such a rapid-fire way that you can’t help but be reminded of the old Howard Hawks’ films of the 30’s or 40’s (especially “His Girl Friday"). It is so rare to hear dialogue like this in a film today, so much so that when the first scene started and the words just exploded out of these characters, I suddenly realized that I had to focus with this film or would miss out on some amazing work. There is still so much that I could talk about concerning this brilliant film (or movie), but suffice to say that I highly recommend it to everyone. (Plus, Justin Timberlake is in it, and you know, he's bringing sexy back!).
Ranked 11 in Top 25 of 2010
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