An ostensibly perfect but unaffecting biopic that is both timely and possibly immoral.

Rating: 8/10 (16 June 2014)

David Fincher's completely 21st century biopic turned investigation into society turned crime thriller.
Everything about The Social Network is seemingly, or at least, ostensibly perfect; Jesse Eisenberg is an astounding piece of casting, the acting is consistently believable, the direction and editing is solid bordering on great, the cinematography is grungy and dynamic, the score is tense, racing and sombre, the sound is precise, and the writing is witty, rapid and dense.
Yet, even with all this, it is not enjoyable or even impactful. All the characters are frustrating; Mark Zuckerberg is self-entitled and pretentious, the Winklevoss twins are elitist and enviable, all women are played to be less capable than the men and completely objectified and Sean Parker is opportunistic and manipulative. Even Eduardo Saverin, the only character the audience is capable of rooting for, is incapable of seeing the forthcoming chaos. David Fincher possibly did this on purpose, but that makes The Social Network successful rather than enjoyable or wondrous - resulting in a film that is little more than a particularly well constructed drama.
The overriding feeling when watching The Social Network is not wonderment, inspiration or awe, but instead resentment, anger and even jealousy. The society presented in The Social Network goes from an elitist and torturous fraternity, full of sexism and hierarchy, to a big-business talk filled silicon valley, to a cringe-worthy British rowing society, to a back-stabbing, hoody-wearing "too cool for school" pretentious world-playing international corporation - all of which perfectly eloquate an America that stands for everything I find deplorable.
Overall, if you are a member of the "young hip" society portrayed, or at least don't find it immoral, then you should find that The Social Network is a near-perfectly constructed astute drama.
But for me, I find the film merely respectable in craft, even if I physically hate watching it - few-to-no films have ever gotten under my skin and angered me so much.
It's social pertinence and timely delivery has lead some to compare it wrongly to Citizen Kane, when truly the only similarity is in premise.
As with Martin Scorsese, I find David Fincher to be more of a "film-maker" than an artist, and The Social Network is no greater example of that perfect in craft, unaffecting in execution.