Good ideas are in the universe'

Rating: 8/10 (28 May 2011)

Admittedly I'm the wrong demographic for this movie. I find all the hoopla about it curious. It's a good film, absorbing, and I loved its various messages, but I was not blown away.
The film purports to be the story of Mark Zuckerberg and his founding of Facebook. Like a lot of films based on a true story, it takes some liberties. Jesse Eisenberg does an excellent job as Zuckerberg, portrayed here as a brilliant young man who likes to create computer programs. When he creates Facebook, he encounters legal problems and comes up against former friends.
I liked the points made in the film - it's not the person who has the idea -- it's the person who takes the idea and makes it a commercial success who is rewarded. The person we remember is the one who takes something and makes it a go. The other point is, when it comes to money, everything else flies out the window. That includes friendship and loyalty. It shows us that business decisions are cut and dried, bottom line events.
The acting is natural and low key, and though this story could have been deadly, it moves at a decent pace and at least kept me interested. I was sort of expecting Citizen Kane and instead I got something several notches below. That's the problem with seeing something after everyone else has seen it. But I can certainly see its appeal to the younger generation.