Review of The Social Network (2010) by Jeremy T — 11 Apr 2013

In the wake of The Social Network, it would be easy for me to wax poetic about the ubiquity of Facebook. To be sure, it's pretty fascinating that a website with humble Harvard dormitory beginnings is now something omnipresent enough to provide the key way many of us keep our pulse on our community of contacts. But The Social Network is less about the behemoth Facebook has become than about its earliest days. It's not a biopic about a website, afterall; it's the story of Mark Zuckerberg, the boy whose silly face used to be plastered in the upper corner of every page of Facebook. Remember, back in the spring of 2004 when you saw his name all over that site? What's that? You don't remember? Okay, I tease. Part of the thrill of The Social Network for me is that I was a junior in college (we call them "third years") when University of Chicago became one of the first handful of schools to be a part of the Facebook world. It was an exciting time, and I remember it clearly. Word of the site spread like a plague through the campus; you had to be invited to join, but that wasn't a problem, since everyone could invite everyone else. It was a matter of days before virtually everyone in the college was on - this at a school whose reputation for social backwardness make Harvard seem like Florida State.

The pride I feel at being there for the first wave, so to speak, of this monumental, ever-changing experiment is the crux of inclusion/exclusiveness impulse that The Social Network presents to us. Zuckerberg, it suggests, was able to recognize and capitalize on the need to be a part of the club, but not one that "just anyone" can join because he felt that need as much as anyone could. Just a nerd desperate to be noticed, but also an aloof narcissist, he extrapolated that everyone felt what he was feeling, and jump at the opportunity to create a tangible circle of friends and contacts. He was right, and the rest is history.

The story of The Social Network is based on history (and Ben Mezrich's book, The Accidental Billionaires), but it is likely not something you've heard before. A movie about a website sounds dull; a movie about the brilliance, excitement, cheating, and double-crossing that bred the world's youngest billionaire, on the other hand...now that's a movie. And that's The Social Network. Well acted (I was especially impressed by Justin Timberlake, who plays Napster guy Sean Parker), exciting, and often funny, the film only falters in its occasional tendency to portray the Winklevoss brothers (whose idea may or may not have been the base for Facebook) as the blue-blooded whiney villains of many an '80s teen comedy. They aren't really antagonists here. In a way, Zuckerberg is both the protagonist and the antagonist. Some may balk at the breakneck pace of the witty banter (think Gilmore Girls, in an episode where Rory and Lorelei need more server space and program in Perl while intoxicated). Yes, the sparkling dialogue is delivered at a pace at which no mere mortal could possibly operate, but it still sparkles.

Those who are well-versed in Facebook will be treated to a few in-jokes and neo-nostalgic references, and the film is full of fun details (Zuckerberg's blog is on Live Journal, and it's called "Zuckonit"; the movie presents these things to us visually but doesn't call attention to them) but anyone could enjoy it. This movie might still be interesting even if Facebook were just a figment of the screenwriter's imagination. That's quite an acheivement, but thank goodness it's not really made up. Otherwise, how would I tell everyone how much I liked it? Email? Writing a letter? Gimme a break. I'm gonna Facebook it.