Worth watching, even if a touch longer than necessary

Rating: 7/10 (25 May 2011)

How far can one girl drive a guy to go? That question is at the core of "The Social Network." The movie follows Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) through all of the twists and turns of developing his now- famous Facebook web site. The social scene of America's elite universities - portrayed as elitist, filled with peer pressure, and driven towards getting what you want – provides the backdrop for the legal battles between both Mark and his friend Eduardo, as well as a group of students from one of the most prestigious clubs on campus. The money involved, however, is always secondary to the more important issues of status and social standing, and the contrast of that pressure with developing actual friendships. It is also, of course, about that one girl – Erica, a BU student who we first meet in a bar with Mark, whose occasional appearances remind us of what gets Mark started in the first place.
The movie's story is definitely compelling, giving us flashback insights into the process by which Facebook became a social phenomenon. Though most of us know how successful the site ends up being (I even got into this site through Facebook), we are still left intrigued by the complicated process which drives the site forward from its humble beginnings in a Harvard dorm room. The college social scene that is at the heart of the movie is also skillfully articulated, with Trent Reznor's musical influence providing a tremendous soundtrack that highlights its darker undertones. The film also raises a number of great questions about what it means to be social in the 21st century – how are our relationships shaped by technology, and in reverse, how has technology developed in response to the way our relationships have already changed. How we can develop a whole "social network" - and lose all our real friends in the process – creates the powerful but disturbing narrative behind this film.
There are a few weaknesses in the movie. The story does not seem to fill the entire 120 minutes, with lulls where the plot is moving a bit slowly and the characters do not provide enough of an emotional connection to keep things interesting. Cutting 15-20 minutes and/or further developing some of the secondary characters may have helped the story feel more consistently strong. The rest of the movie's strengths, however, more than make up for these weaknesses, and make this film well worth watching – and then, perhaps, posting a note about on Facebook.