Review of The Social Network (2010) by Anggito Z — 31 Dec 2018

Who can you trust? Who's legit and who's not? How much of your soul are you willing to sell in order to succeed?

All of this comes into play with The Social Network. The business world is a vicious shark tank, and only the strong, even greedy and relentless if need be, will survive. I rarely run into films like these; ones that require more than one viewing for me to fully appreciate them, but this is one of them.

The Social Network on the surface is beautifully shot and exquisitely edited, with scenes lit a certain way to embody the mood of whatever situation is occuring. The dialogue is snappy, sharp and constant, never ceasing to move the central plot and story along. Jesse Eisenberg is no doubt the most memorable character here, giving a semi fictitious portrayal of one of the world's wealthiest entrepreneurs. Justin Timberlake is charming as the smooth but sleazy opportunist Sean Parker, and Andrew Garfield aces it as Zuckerberg's "best friend" Eduardo, a smart young businessman with tough luck and some jealousy issues.

This isn't a suspense thriller or anything conventionally exciting, and I'm sure there are multitudes of people out there(like me initially) who find this film to be about nothing more than rich preppy kids suing each other over a petty situation like the invention of a social media platform. On paper, that sounds dull. But all of this is merely a template for the true meat of the film. What matters and requires attention to detail is Fincher and crews filming choices, how actions affect characters, the true nature of individuals being exposed over time and the non-sugarcoated reality of business.

The business talk, the verbal warfare and dog-eat-dog nature of rising to the top makes the film more and more engrossing on multiple rewatches. To succeed, sacrifices must be made, big or small. It's lonely at the top, and nobody makes it there without self-inflicted emotional voids. That's the harsh reality of business, and these characters are dead in the middle of it playing their cards and trying their best to scratch and claw their way to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow no matter what. Sometimes it's business, sometimes it's personal, sometimes it's both.

Like The Godfather, The Social Network excels in the aspect of different characters with varying personalities colliding in their business interactions. Really, none of the major characters in this film are saints, which is clearly intentional. Which character is gonna outsmart, out-snake and out-B.S. who? It's easy to assume Zuckerberg is innocent being the protagonist and all the plaintiffs(Eduardo, Divya and the Winklevoss twins) are in the wrong. But viewing it objectively, the plaintiffs have good points and solid reasons to sue Mark, therefore the question of whether Mark is innocent or not doesn't come with a simple yes or no.

This is a unique character study of a film that rewards multiple viewings. It's a simple premise executed within anything-but-simple layers that touch on social structures, friendship, jealousy, relationships, interactions in a digital age, corporate culture, entrepreneurship and possibly more. The more I think of it the more I want to rewatch it.