RIVIEW OF THE SOCIAL NETWORK

Rating: 3/10 (2 May 2020)

Guilty or innocent? You decide. Yes, that's the USP of David Fincher's compelling biopic which paints an intensely human picture of the entrepreneur who ended up facing messy law suits which showcased him as a mean, me-centric, Machiavellian man of questionable morals. Yet, he remains a hero-figure you can't end up hating, despite his flawed personality and his ambivalent ethics. And that's the hallmark of all great story-telling. For, when it comes to human drama, there aren't any unadulterated bad guys and good guys. Only flawed-and-fine guys. Remember Shakespeare?
There are so many interesting nuggets in the film. From Zuckergberg's first attempts at creating an interactive site as an act of vengeance against his girlfriend, Erica Albright (Rooney Mara) to his encounter with Napster's knight in shining armour, Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake), the drama hurtles across with breakneck speed. You can almost feel the energy pulsating through the untidy dormitory -- or the crummy house in Palo Alto -- where a hoodied Zuckerberg hobnobs with his handful of friends to juggle with codes and numbers to create the next big thing after Google. And all through the amorphous wonderland, our hero waltzes like a wide-eyed Peter Pan, lacking all the social graces that define the Harvard pack. All he cares about is creating the 'coolest' site that is 'freakishly addictive', without giving a dime about money and the moneyed life. He never does give up his hoodies and his flip flops and remains awkward with girls till the very end, preferring to spend his evenings wired up in solitary splendour. Or in desperate loneliness, wondering if he should send a friend request to the girl who dumped him on his first date....
The high point of The Social Network is its super screenplay (Aaron Sorkin) where every dialogue becomes a quotable quote. The exchange between the lead characters is witty and vibrant, carrying forth the drama with a throbbing intensity. And the performances are simply splendid. Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg is absolutely riveting. For the actor treads the fine line between good and evil with supreme balance and he never does trip, not even for a minute. Andrew Garfield's Eduardo is adorable, adding flesh and blood to the best buddy syndrome, while Justin Timberlake's Sean Parker proves that the singer needs to urgently shift focus from the stage to the screen. He's mercurial, magical and deliciously mean