A masterful film ..."I'm CEO, Bitch"

Rating: 8/10 (30 November 2011)

The real-life Facebook saga, beginning and ending with Harvard University student Mark Zukerberg, a computer nerd permanently dressed-down in T-shirts and a sweat jacket, who turned one drunken night of blogging about his ex-girlfriend into the top networking site on the web. The success of Facebook, an internet phenomenon currently worth some 25 billion dollars, did not come to Zuckerberg easily, what with his best friend and CFO squeezed out early on; twin Harvard athletes and their business manager suing Mark for stealing their idea; and Napster co-founder Sean Parker appointing himself Zuckerberg's unofficial business manager. Director David Fincher and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, adapting Ben Mezrich's book "The Accidental Billionaires", keep the past-and-present action moving lickety-split; no corners are cut, though the duo speed so quickly at sharp angles that viewers could easily get lost in the shuffle if not paying rapt attention. No problem, as Jesse Eisenberg (as the curiously ever-complicated Zuckerberg) gives one of the finest performances of the decade. Supporting cast, including Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, and Armie Hammer (playing both Winklevoss brothers), are excellent as well. Films like "The Social Network", which are predominantly made up of conversations over action, run the risk of becoming bogged down in talk (or, worse, repeating themselves). Fincher is highly adept at creating inner-tension within his scenario--so that the picture is never boring--and substituting visual thrills with vicarious thrills. This is a smart, prescient, tightly-edited piece of work, one with the sting of defeat as well as the sting of success. Winner of three Oscars: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Film Editing. *** from ****