The Social Network

First off this ‘The Social Network’ is as much about Facebook as ‘The Queen’ was about the death of Princess Diana; it really isn’t about it at all. Instead the film looks at the relationships and dynamics of the key players and what happened between them while Facebook was founded; anyone who doesn’t have a Facebook page (do such people still exist?!) can still enjoy it without feeling they are missing a crucial bit of information. This comes as no surprise when you see that the writer is Aaron Sorkin who made ‘The West Wing’ watchable for those who are not interested in American politics. With ‘The Social Network’ he has made a film that doesn’t require a degree in computer science to understand, and has also managed to capture the thoughts and feelings of a very recent part of history which Hollywood is usually very slow at picking up on.

Adapted from Ben Mezrich’s non-fiction book ‘The Accidental Billionaires’ the film moves along three different time lines. Zuckerberg is in the middle of two different, simultaneous lawsuits, one by the Winklevoss twins and their business partner Divya Narendra, and the other by his best friend and former CFO Eduardo Saverin. During the discussions around these lawsuits the story of Facebook’s founding comes out. It all starts off in Harvard 2003 where Mark Zuckerberg is unhappy with his present social standing, and wants to become part of elitist society by being a member of a Final club (think Oxford’s Bullingdon Club or Yale’s Skull and Bones). He gets the attention of club members Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss after his site ‘FaceMash’ crashes the Harvard servers, and they ask him to write the code for a social website exclusive to Harvard students. Zuckerberg takes this idea and turns it into Facebook; from there the film follows what happens next, from the website expanding to a few schools all the way to it reaching 1 million members. Between all this the film mainly concentrates on the relationships surrounding Zuckerberg and how he pulls people in and pushes them away.

The film for me was made by the great characters who are all very well developed and layered, but also don’t fit with the usual film dynamic; the ones you end up rooting for are not necessarily the ones you expected when you walked into the cinema. The stand out performance was easily Jesse Eisenberg who delivers Sorkin’s zingy dialogue expertly and shows a very complex picture of Zuckerberg. It would have been too easy to demonise the Facebook founder since a lot of what he is portrayed as doing was sneaky and underhanded., however Eisenberg manages to show enough of a weak side to make him relatable. There is a very cold, logical, calculating side to him and this side is what made him a genius, but there is also a side that is incredibly insecure and human. For instance I have found out since watching the film that the reason Facebook is predominatly blue is because Mark Zuckerberg is colour blind and blue is the most obvious and clearest colour he sees.  He just desperately wants to be cool, popular and recognised, as he believes that is the gateway to a better life, but does not have the social tact to do so. He is clever, there is no doubt about that, but he can’t seem to properly connect with other people, at least not in the conventional way, so he created a medium he would be able to do it in. The greatest irony is even when he has all the success, is the world youngest billionaire and is recognised by millions of people he still can’t be the life of the party or connect with those who matter to him and this makes an ultimately tragic character.

The true victim of the story, at least it seems from the film, is Zuckerberg’s friend and CFO Eduardo Saverin, who stuck with him through everything, but was forced out of the company when his shares were diluted a thousand fold. It will always be a complete mystery to me why a guy as caring and compassionate as Eduardo would be around someone as self centred as Zuckerberg could be. Andrew Garfield plays the part fantastically well and allows the audience to sympathise with him as he gets slowly pushed aside without forcing it on us. These sympathetic feelings cannot be placed on the other major male lead that is Justin Timberlake’s Sean Parker. Parker is the co-founder of Napster and Timberlake portrays him as cool, swathe and enticing, but he is ultimately the antagonist of the film. He manipulates and blinds Zuckerberg and never accepts responsibility for the damage he causes and the rift he creates between Mark and Eduardo.  The most surprising characters for me turned out to be the Winklevoss twins. Both played by Armie Hammer, at least one was Armie Hammer and the other one was Hammer’s head digitally placed on another’s body, these twins seem to have it all; looks, money, brains (they are in Harvard after all) and a sporting career that saw them in the Olympics and more recently row for Oxford in the Oxford Vs Cambridge boat race. However given all this they come across as likable because in the end they are also victims of Zuckerberg. They came up with a similar idea and approached Zuckerberg with it and he then stole the idea. Originally the twins did little to stop him as they saw themselves as gentlemen and above any rumour spreading or cashing in, but as soon as the website went global they snapped and demanded they got the recognition they deserved. Their gentleman like behaviour redeems the two character in the audiences’ eyes and makes us root for them as much as we do Eduardo.

Not only are the characters and actors superb, but the entire film fits together beautifully and this all down to director David Fincher (Fight Club, Seven). All the cinematography, music and on site shots fit perfectly together to give the film a sense of grandeur, which it rightly deserves since it is the origin story of something that has changed and defined a generation. With the help of Aaron Sorkins’ script the film does have some hi-tech jargon, but this is only used to demonstrate the characters’ knowledge and expertise and is easy to follow. The multiple time lines also fit really well together and don’t become skewed or hard to follow as can often happen. Neither of these two men have Facebook accounts or any interest in Facebook so they were able to create a film that did not concentrate too heavily on the subject matter itself, but more on the websites effect on people and on a generation. It is strange to think of a world without Facebook, but it is in fact a world that we have all lived in. Stranger still is going on Facebook after you know all the blood, sweat and tears that went into making it.

Degree: 1^st

A fascinating insight into the lives and tribulations of three geeks as they

revolutionise 21^st century communication. The only thing missing is

the real Mark Zuckerberg’s reaction.

(If you are confused about the rating system please click on the ‘About This Blog Page’ which will explain it all)

You Have 2 New Friend Requests

Social networking has revolutionized the way we live and altered communication, advertising and most recently the law. So it comes as not surprise that the experience and dangers of social cyberspace have been made into a film; 2 in fact. There is ‘The Social Network’ which I have already mentioned and there is also ‘Catfish’, which looks at the darker side of it all.

Catfish is a fly on the wall documentary about  New York photographer Nev Schulman who pursues an online relationship with Megan Pierce who he meets after her half sister Abbey sends him a picture of one of his photos. We are shown, through the perspective of Nev’s friends, how the relationship grows as they start to text, call and email each other constantly. But with a the title of the film meaning ‘ a person who pretends to be someone they are not using online social networks’ we know it won’t be ending well. In fact the ending has been described by ‘JoBlo.com’ as ‘an emotional roller-coaster ride that you won’t be able to shake for days’, while the Financial Times said the film was ‘ the best Hitchcock film that Hitchcock never directed’. With such great recommendations it is a shame that UK viewers will likely never get to watch it, but I would love to hear from an American readers what the film is like. It will be released state side on 17th September 2010.

Luckily for UK audiences we will get to watch ‘The Social Network’ which will be out in the UK 15th October 2010. However, until then here is a sneak preview of some of the film’s scenes.

The Social Network

It’s Facebook the Movie! Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfiled and Justin Timberlake star as the feuding geeks behind the phenomenon that has changed a generation, revolutionised communication and made sure the Internet isn’t just for porn. Gone With the Wind it isn’t but the trailer certainly makes it look epic. ‘Like’. The movie will be out 15th October 2010.