Not just a film about Facebook

Rating: 8/10 (6 May 2015)

Making a film based on the creation of something which is in a sense 'invisible' is challenging. But Fincher's impressive The Social Network is less about the popular website itself and more about the people involved in its creation and subsequent popularity growth.
The film opens smack-dab in the middle of a conversation in a bar between soon-to-be Facebook 'inventor' Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) and his girlfriend Erica Albright (Rooney Mara). Erica, eventually fed up with Mark's desire to attain status, breaks up with him. Mark, enraged, starts posting degrading comments about Erica and women in general on his blog. He also creates a website called "Facemash" where Harvard students can rate women based on their 'hotness'. The website becomes massively popular the very same night and causes Harvard's severs to crash, which for a 'computer geek' like Zuckerberg is an achievement rather than a problem. Two other students, the Winklevoss brothers, are impressed and recruit Mark to create a website focused on social interaction. Mark, however, takes their idea, adds things and creates his own website behind the Winklevoss' backs, called "The Facebook". The film then proceeds to go back and forth in time to show both the (legal) drama that is to come and the current evolution in popularity of "The Facebook".
One of the film's highlights is the quick-witted script by The West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin. For those who say the script feels unnatural, I can only refer you to Network, a film made about 30 years ago, known for its brilliant and yes, unnatural screenplay, that is still talked about to this day. Anyway, there's not much to say about the script that hasn't been said already: it's occasionally 'tech-y' but not too much, clever, smart and lightning-fast, something the film's fantastic editing emphasizes (the first time I felt I had a chance to catch my breath was during a rowing match somewhere halfway in the film!). Fincher's direction believably places the viewer in the college experience, showing glimpses of parties, classes and the oppressive college culture lying underneath it all where financial success is everything. Fincher also deserves a lot of credit for coaxing uniformly excellent performances from such a young cast. The extras present on the special edition reveal how Fincher spent weeks around the table with the actors, endlessly discussing the characters.
A film like this, based on historical events, will always be partially judged on how well it stays true to the very history it attempts to recreate. I have doubts whether The Social Network follows everything down to the smallest details, but I always saw the film more as a social commentary. Fincher seemed to have a strong interest in the moral degradation underlying the character's world and actions. This is something Fincher is more than familiar with, having explored similar issues in films like Se7en, The Game and Fight Club and (his next film) The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
It's interesting to note in hindsight the battle between The King's Speech and The Social Network at the Oscars. While The Social Network had been dominating the awards season up to the BAFTA's, the Academy went with The King's Speech in the end, awarding it Best Picture and Best Director among others. Why this sudden change? There are a number of reasons, two of which are the most popular: 1) The King's Speech checked more boxes in the so-called 'award bait' category (disease/disability, British Royalty, overcoming the odds) and 2) it captured the 'hearts' of the Academy. People expected voters to vote with their hearts than with their minds. In other words, The King's Speech was the more likable film. I'll end this review with a quote from the ending to The Social Network that, in retrospect, captures this sentimentalism:
MARYLIN I'm talking about a jury. I specialize in voir dire--jury selection. And what the jury sees when they look at the defendant. Clothes, hair, speaking style, likability—
MARK Likability?
MARYLIN I've been licensed to practice law for all of 20 months and I could get a jury to believe you planted the story about Eduardo and the chicken. Watch what else. Why weren't you at Sean's sorority party that night?
MARK You think I'm the one who called the police?
MARYLIN Doesn't matter. I asked the question and now everybody's thinking about it. You've lost your jury in the first 10 minutes.
Note that Mark says 'Likability?' in a mocking manner, showing he already knows he's not the most charismatic guy around. Also, replace the word 'jury' with 'Oscar voters' in that last sentence and you see why The Social Network lost its chances at the Best Picture Oscar in the first 10 minutes.