REVIEW: The Social Network (2010)

  David Fincher is due a good film. There are two reasons for this. One is that he is a director who makes one good film for every bad one. Starting from “Seven”, he has consistently alternated between the good and the bad. Since his last film was “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, his new film “The Social Network” should be one of his best. The other reason is that “The Social Network” might be a last hurrah for a director on the verge of slipping into the pedantry of a franchise, in Fincher’s case a series of unnecessary English-language remakes of the successful Swedish Millennium trilogy. “The Social Network” is good, very good but, of course, it had to be.

  Snappily written by Aaron Sorkin, the creator of “The West Wing”, the film follows anti-social computer whiz Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) who, desperate to enter into elite Harvard society, designs the website Facebook. Subsidized by his only friend Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), the website becomes a phenomenal success. Zuckerberg falls under the influence of industry bad boy Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake), broke after creating Napster and facing multiple lawsuits. Zuckerberg is eventually sued twice, one lawsuit from the Winklevoss twins (both played by Armie Hammer) and another from his best friend Saverin.

  As the film is largely set indoors, it is very much an actor’s film. All of the cast shine. Jesse Eisenberg, previously known as the poor man’s Michael Cera, has proven himself to be much better than the typecast Cera, managing to convey the sinister side of the socially awkward nerd effortlessly. There is a lot of pathos in his lovesick character who just wants to fit in. Garfield and Timberlake are great support, perfectly at odds with each other for the entire film. Hammer plays his dual role with great comic timing and a lot of integrity. Sorkin’s script rarely allows for a straggling scene and ensures that every character becomes a person. On top of being a very witty script, packed with good laughs, it refuses to take sides. Fincher, too, is on top form, allowing us time to get to know the characters while neither losing forward momentum nor excellent visuals. Somehow, he manages to make scenes of computer hacking and programming exciting.  

  The fact that the film is about the creation of Facebook should not put people off. Fans and haters of the website will be equally pleased. Essentially, it’s a poignant film of young men trying to fit in and getting in over their heads, while at the same time exposing a deeply misogynist and materialist society. Mark Zuckerberg, genius or thief, is largely a tragic figure in the film.

  This is intriguing and moving cinema from a director working at the height of his powers, with a great script and a talented cast. If he takes a long time to fully deliver again, this should tide us over. Oh, and the ending is great.