Surprisingly deep and moving film

Rating: 8/10 (22 October 2010)

I think the majority of people were very skeptical upon hearing that a film was to be made regarding the invention of everyone's favourite social network site: Facebook. Such a film sounds like a quick cash-in, aimed at today's youth who live part of their lives through the said website; however, when David (Fight Club) Fincher was announced as director I immediately became intrigued. Fincher is, in my eyes, one of the best directors around, and his attachment to a film ensures it will be entertaining yet deep. He's proved this with his past projects, and this is exactly how I would describe The Social Network. I'll admit, I have a Facebook account, although I had no idea who created it or how it was created. The Social Network tells the story of how Mark Zuckerberg, a Harvard University student, comes up with the idea of Facebook, and the ensuing legal battles he faces. Now, since seeing the film I have learnt that much of the film is in fact an exaggeration of the truth; but what film isn't these-days? The Social Network begins with Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) being dumped by his girlfriend Erica in a bar where they had visited to just have a drink. You learn a lot about Zuckerberg in this scene, how he is a complete ass, yet simply wants to have friends and be recognised as having friends. In retaliation to the actions of his ex, Zuckerberg returns to his dorm and creates a website called 'FaceMash' where Harvard female students are rated against one another based solely on levels of attraction. Zuckerberg creates FashMash in one evening alone, whilst intoxicated, although he is aided by several friends, including Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield) who supplies him with an algorithm necessary to allow the site to function properly, and it is this feat, along with the fact that the Harvard network crashes due to the amount of traffic on FaceMash, that alert Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss to Zuckerberg's talents. They hire Zuckerberg to create a social network site called The Harvard Connection, which Zuckerberg agrees to. However, he then approaches Eduardo with idea of 'Thefacebook', a site where Harvard students can see information regarding each other without invading privacy. Zuckerberg asks Eduardo to put up 1,000 dollars to set up the site, which he will create. Eduardo agrees and Zuckerberg quickly creates the site that becomes an instant hit across campus. During this time, Zuckerberg avoids any meetings with the Winklevoss'; however, they eventually become aware that Zuckerberg is the creator of Thefacebook and claim that he stole their IP. Meanwhile, Thefacebook expands to schools across the US, and comes to the attention of Napster co-founder Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake), who arranges a meeting with Zuckerberg and Eduardo. Zuckerberg is impressed with Parker, whilst Eduardo notes his unprofessional past, and is skeptical of him in general. No deal is reached with Parker, though he recommends that they drop 'The' from the site calling it simply 'Facebook', which is taken up by Zuckerberg. The decision is then taken by Zuckerberg to move the base of operation to Palo Alto, while Eduardo remains in the East trying to secure investment through advertising. When Eduardo shows up at Palo Alto he is enraged that Parker is living with the Facebook team and making business decisions, while Eduardo is ignored. Zuckerberg then agrees to a decision whereby Parker is given 7% share of Facebook and Eduardo's ownership is reduced from 30% to less than 1%. Eduardo then decides to sue Zuckerberg, whilst Parker and Facebook interns are arrested for possession of cocaine at a party. Throughout the film we see Zuckerberg testifying in the two lawsuits (Winklevoss' and Eduardo's), and the finale sees a junior lawyer inform Zuckerberg that his defence team will recommend a settlement agreement with Eduardo and she suggests that he settles. The film ends with Zuckerberg sending Erica (his ex) a friend request and waiting for her to reply. I must say that all the performances in this film are fantastic, something that deserves recognition considering the cast are all quite young. Eisenberg steals the show as Zuckerberg, portraying a troubled youth with immense talent that, as Eduardo recognises, "needs looking after". Timberlake puts in an admirable performance as sleazy Parker, and I think he deserves some respect for playing a character that really isn't supposed to be liked in the movie. This isn't a happy movie, there's some jokes, but generally you will leave the cinema somewhat downbeat. This is a film about how friendships are destroyed, and how people are manipulated. The audience are probably most sympathetic to Eduardo (he was a consultant for the movie, whilst no Facebook employee, Zuckerberg included, had anything to do with it - perhaps this has some bearing on the telling of the story), he tries to do the right thing and look out for Zuckerberg, but Zuckerberg's treatment of him leads him to being kicked out of the Facebook team. Fincher's direction is superb, a memorable scene being the Henley Regatta featuring the Winklevoss' boat race, which I would like to watch again. The film is very relevant right now, as Facebook is huge and still growing, and it is impressive what has been achieved in a film regarding such a subject. I can guarantee that you won't be disappointed with The Social Network, and it ranks up there with Fincher's best.