“The Social Network” is a fast-paced drama detailing the history of Facebook that keeps viewers interested with its intricate story-lines and quippy dialogue. †The movie tells the story of Mark Zuckerberg (Jessie Eisenberg), inventor of Facebook, and the two lawsuits surrounding the controversial invention, brought on by his best friend Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), the Winkelvoss twins (Armie Hammer and Josh Pence) and Divya Narendra (Max Minghella).
The film, which is the story of Zuckerberg as much as it is the history of Facebook, reveals the protagonist’s character right from the beginning.† Zuckerberg appears to be a pompous and nerdy computer whiz who cares little about his few friends.† Within the first five minutes Zuckerberg is dumped by his girlfriend, and in order to deal with the sting of rejection he puts his energy into making a Web site which gives college students the power to rate girls on their “hotness level.”
After crashing the Harvard network due to the popularity of the site, Divya Narendra, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss attempt to recruit Zuckerberg as their computer programmer for a new social network Web site they’re working on.† Zuckerberg later decides to end his work with their Web site and start his own.† Almost immediately after, Zuckerberg launches “thefacebook.com” with Saverin.† This Web site gains instantaneous popularity, but the twins and Narendra are not amused, as they believe the Web site is a copy of the site Zuckerberg was supposed to be working on for them.† The movie’s tagline, “You don’t get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies,” begins to become clear.
The Winklevoss twins and Narendra are not the only enemies Zuckerberg makes due to the invention of Facebook.† After Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake), self-proclaimed entrepreneur and inventor of Napster, begins work with Zuckerberg everything goes downhill for Saverin.† Parker seems to manipulate the socially awkward Zuckerberg after becoming a shareholder of the company.† The friendship between Saverin and Zuckerberg is severely strained, causing him to lose his one real friend before he made 500 million friends on the Internet.
Clever, fast paced dialogue is central to the story line.† Eisenberg delivers his one-liners with perfect comedic timing, putting the lawyers interviewing him in their place with one sarcastic comment after another.† Eisenberg’s ridiculously quick speech also adds a special quality to Zuckerberg, although it may be hard for viewers to understand everything said at certain points, especially when he uses computer jargon.† Even though Zuckerberg comes off as self-centered and naive, Eisenberg’s acting draws the viewer in, making Zuckerberg, despite his obvious faults, a relatable character.
All†in†all,†”The†Social†Network”†proves†to†be†a†very†entertaining†movie†that†will†engross†viewers†with†the†trials†and†travails†of†Zuckerberg†as†he†relives†his†experience†creating†one†of†the†most†important†and†addicting†inventions†of†our†generation.
Although†there†may†be†a†few†confusing†moments†throughout†the†movie,†it†was†well†planned†and†very†interestingly†shot.
The†actors†all†give†exceptional†performances†that†never†fail†to†hit†the†mark.†I†definitely†recommend†seeing†it.