Review of The Social Network (2010) by Brittany F — 31 Aug 2013

I'm going to start off by saying I absolutely, unabashedly love this movie. I watch it every couple of months and I enjoy it more every time. To me it's perfect, and I am honestly shocked it didn't win best picture back in 2010.

It expertly conveys the ways people interact have changed in our technology saturated world. I honestly believe that when looked back upon The Social Network will be a film that is used to define a generation.

Everything about this movie works for me, and now allow me to explain why. First of all I'll start off with the acting. Jesse Eisenberg is great as Mark Zuckerberg. He really creates a duality within the character that simultaneously makes you sympathize and hate the guy, which is great.

Through Eisenberg's portrayal you are able to see how driven he is for success, yet he genuinely cares for his friend Eduardo, and doesn't want to screw him over. He doesn't quite know how to make those things work together, and you can see it's clearly difficult for him.

Speaking of Wardo, Andrew Garfield is superb as well. A lot of the action in the movie hinges on the relationship between Zuckerberg and Saverin working and it does. You're really able to buy they're easy friendship in the beginning and how it deteriorates to the point of legal action.

It's also great because two different people could watch the movie and have completely different opinions on who is right. Honestly I've watched the thing upwards of ten times, and my loyalties change with every viewing.

To wrap up the acting I'll touch on Armie Hammer as The Winklevoss Twins. The fact that I legitimately thought for a long time that they were real twins is a credit to Hammer's talent. He had to make these guys seem distinct, and he does that to an absurd degree.

I'll move on to the directing now which is excellent. If you've ever seen a Fincher movie, then you'll recognize his trademarks all over the place. His execution is always completely on point.

This leads me to Sorkin's script which is great. Sometimes with Sorkin he gets really self-indulgent, but here I see none of that. The dialogue is witty and fast-paced and absolutely perfect for the story they're telling here.

The decision to have the narrative be broken up by two different lawsuits was excellent in my opinion. It creates a sense of intrigue as to how all this went to crap so quickly, and really works in the context of the story.

Before moving away from the writing, I want to discuss one of the best opening scenes ever. The exchange between Mark and Erica at the beginning is superb. In that short amount of time Sorkin established what type of guy Zuckerberg is and his apparent motivations for starting this company.

Not only that but the dialogue is just so freaking good. Finally I'll wrap up with the soundtrack from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. It's like a hybrid of ominous tones and techno beats and it fits the movie so unbelievably well.

I could listen to the soundtrack all day, and it is without question one of my favorites. As I said I think this is a movie for a generation and everyone should see it regardless of how old or young you are.