The Social Network Review

Film-o-Rama Review by August Meyer

The Social Network is so intensely dark and intricate that its hard to believe it is, to some degree, the story of our time. It does for our decade what all of John Hughe's films did for the 1980's. Director David Fincher earns his stripes as he dives head first into the twenty-something year old minds that created a new industry and reaped the rewards.

The Social Network follows the success and betrayal of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, as an alcohol fueled idea in a college dorm room evolves into one of the biggest inventions of the twenty-first century. But not only does it follow the story of the founding of Facebook, it delves into the kind of minds that shaped who we are today, where physical communication is almost obsolete in a day and age where everything is online. A society was flipped on its ass and reshaped by a few "nerds" with computers, and this monster of a movie brings to light the darkness and genius that did it.

The story unfolds with a question, "Did you know that in China there are more people with genius IQ's than there are people in America?". Mark Zuckerberg is seated at a shady bar with his then girlfriend, and says this out of frustration with the competitive nature of both the university he attends, and the day in which he lives . He complains about the difficulties of distinguishing oneself in today's world, and after a while of unrefined narcissistic conversation, the girl has had enough. She hurls a few expletives and is out the door. Unbeknownst to Zuckerberg, this would be the catalyst to his success. He then hurries home, and while inebriated vents about his breakup through his blog, and hacks into the Harvard University picture database to showcase who is hotter than his ex through a website fueled by jilted rage. And thus, a social network was born through rejection.

The film is acted almost seamlessly. Ronney Mara plays Zuckerberg's girlfriend, and while she has maybe ten minutes of total screen time, she shows a level of sincerity most actor's couldn't achieve with tenfold the amount of time. She also happens to have snagged the role of Lisbeth Salander in the upcoming American adaptation of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo", and you can see why.

Jesse Eisenberg headlines the film, and couldn't have deserved his leading role more. We last saw him in Zombieland, and his diversion into drama couldn't have been more impressive. Throughout the film we see every intellectual struggle he faces, and every bit of stress he encounters affect him in a way that is almost surreal. We don't doubt Mark Zuckerberg's genius for a second, while one can't help but pity his flawed character. Facebook is his brainchild, and everything he does is relentlessly done in its name. The intensity Eisenberg brings to The Social Network is without a doubt Oscar-worthy.

But its not just the characters that will get your heart pounding. The film is set in Massachusetts, among dark streets, dimly lit dorm rooms, and in conference rooms in various legal offices. While the plot jumping back and forth from past to present can be a little confusing, the feeling of raw emotional power never leaves the screen. What with the color scheme of each frame of the film, the dark comedic nature of the script, and the atmosphere created through the combination of all these different elements, tension never ceases to rise. Each and every one of the sets used in the film adds to the aura of darkness illustrating the black nature of the people willing to do anything to achieve fame, fortune, and anything that comes along the way.

David Fincher's film is not only the movie of the year, but I would wager it to be the movie of the decade. Much like what the Breakfast Club did for 80's, and what Pulp Fiction did for the 90's, The Social Network has effectively defined our generation.