THE SOCIAL NETWORK REVIEW

Mark Zuckerberg is one talented individual. Love or hate the whole Facebook phenomenon, 500 Million members and counting, cannot be wrong can they? And if each one of that 500 million go to see The Social Network, with an average of €10 per trip to the cinema, James Cameron and co will really be seeing blue..or maybe that should be green. But the thing is, will everyone with a Facebook account plod off to their local movie displaying establishment? Of course not! Does everyone with a Facebook account even know who the hell Mark Zuckerberg is? Of course not! Is the latest movie from David Fincher any good! Of course it is. As a matter of fact, The Social Network is well poised to be one of the best movies of 2010.

It’s funny to think how a movie, which essentially is about a geeky Harvard student, actually got made at all. Where’s the Bill Gates movie? Where’s the Google movie(although one is on the way apparently)? Where’s the Tom from Myspace biopic? This shouldn’t be a compelling and engaging experience, should it? It should be boring and long winded, much like the coding process. People would be out of their mind to invest money into a picture like this! Well, 2 odd weeks in (since release in the States) and The Social Network is beating off the competition for the second week in a row and deservedly so!

The Social Network revolves around, Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg. The movie is essentially 3 movies in one. One centres' on the creation of Facebook (evolving from FaceMash to The Facebook to Facebook). The other ones are basically court room battles between Zuckerberg and his one time best friend, Eduardo Saverin who invested the first $1000 and the Winklevoss brothers who claim the Zuckerberg stole their idea. These 3 movies are expertly woven into one another by David Fincher and bounce from courtroom to flashback to courtroom with ease.

Whilst, too many courtroom battles may sound long and laborious to some, the pace at which Fincher keeps things moving, is ferocious. There is not a moment where you are left twiddling your thumbs. If anything you try and hang on for dear life as the story unfolds and grips you from the very opening scene. The court room scenes alone are fantastic viewing as Zuckerberg just spits venom and arrogance personified, at the assembled legal eagles

Arron Sorkin wrote the screenplay, based on the book The Accidental Billionaires, which if truth be told, is not a page turner at all at all, so credit where it’s due at his big screen adaptation. But the real clincher here is the cast. Specifically, Jesse Eisenberg who takes on the role of the Zuck. Arrogance and omnipotence flow out of Eisenberg in what is one of the finest performances of his career. As well as arrogance, Eisenberg pulls off the human side of Zuckerberg too, who desperately tries to be accepted and just have the simple things in life, like a girlfriend. There are scenes where Zuckerberg realises that he is human too and Eisenberg brings his performance to a whole new level when portraying the pain and anguish (as little as it might be) that the Facebook creator endures.
The new Spiderman, Andrew Garfield plays Zuck’s best friend and, whilst his performance is good, at times it feels a little flat, but certainly doesn’t let the movie down in any capacity. I felt he could have been a bit more, shall we say, pissed off.
Justin Timberlake takes on the role of Sean Parker, the dude who created Napster. Parker influences Zuckerberg and comes on board almost as a guru of sorts and eventually takes great pride in edging out Eduardo Saverin (Garfield). Timberlake, proves yet again he’s not a one trick pony and pulls off a very convincing portrayal of a man who brought down the record companies in more ways than one. 

 
For a movie that is 2 hours long and relies solely on dialogue and a few brief “coding” montages, there is a huge possibility of it all going bebo. But it doesn’t. Pacing is spot on, dialogue is fascinating, brilliantly written and not at all the geek fest some might imagine. In fact the only thing that leaves the movie down, is the soundtrack. It’s dull and meandering and is poor enough that it is noticeable.

The Social Network is one of most compelling and engaging movies you will see this year. And whilst, the case could be possibly made for artistic licence, you are literally watching history unfold before your eyes. It has some outstanding performances, superb story telling and a frantic pace which will leave you well and truly satisfied! Hit the “LIKE” button!