Where's the 'like' button of this film?

Rating: 10/10 (27 November 2010)

Quick, ruthless and cunningly brilliant. This is two hours of rapid dialogue spells that draw your attention and energy away to leave you in a mesmerising dazzle. The Social Network strictly adheres itself to the traits of the computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg who created Facebook and shares his account through his eyes, prompting one to step into his shoes, enter the realm of geeky genius, and finally seeking the 'like' button of this film (if it exists).
It is true that this film, with its talented cast and crew, will achieve greatness like how Facebook achieved worldwide success. Seemingly uninspiring little ideas, when put together and conceived by a genius mind, gave rise to the Facebook social networking phenomenon that has integrated within our daily lives like oxygen to a brilliant mind.
David Fincher's film is no less different.
Who would have thought that a movie about the founding of Facebook and its creator Mark Zuckerberg will be so engaging with wits sprinkled across every dialogue exchanged. Drawing reference to the geeky nature of Zuckerberg's mind, the film has catered for an intellectual fast-paced treatment that is worthy of a Harvard computer programmer. The language at play here is indirectly complex, jargon-filled and is always full of hidden underlying meanings, insults and sarcasm.
Like how Zuckerberg is always constantly at work to improve and move ahead of others, the astonishing intensity of the dialogues suggests how one has to pay full attention to digest and keep up with the story development before risking getting lost and left behind.
Though a little demanding, but it is rewarding at the end of Zuckerberg's talkative journey.
Already a public-listed quality, Fincher's direction is exquisitely powerful with the sensational screenplay by Aaron Sorkin. Answering the call to achieve technical excellence is the beautiful lowlight imagery and the amazing play of DOF (depth of field) by cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth and his RED ONE camera with the latest Mysterium-X sensor that improves low- light capabilities, rendering great details. These are highly reflected in the dim night club scenes as well as the rowing competition in UK.
Ensemble cast plays a huge contribution to the film's credibility and emotions drawn from its audience, especially of Eisenberg as Zuckerberg and Timberlake as Napster founder Parker. They were spot on choices for their respective roles and were responsible for leading the show with superb multi-dimensional character portrayal.
Everything revolving Zuckerberg's inept social proficiency gave birth to the revolutionary digital social experience, one that he will be in control of and on top of. The social network dream is really based upon Zuckerberg's dreams of living as a high social butterfly, where monetary prospects of his creation is of secondary importance to him.
He is more concerned being labelled as an a**hole by his date over advertising revenues.
However, in the midst of achieving greatness for Facebook, Zuckerberg has gradually twisted his perception in his life and lives by questionable rules and beliefs. He turns delusional as he ousted his best friend Saverin out of Facebook due to visionary disagreement of Facebook's direction. The verbal virus worms from Parker drift them apart further.
The interesting notion about Zuckerberg is, he actually knows what he wants and what he is after right from the beginning. Despite being supposedly 'brainwashed' by Parker, he remains nonchalant against the evils that Parker is advocating, such as drugs and underage girls. Zuckerberg remains an unpredictable and hard to understand personality who works alone in his own unique manner.
Zuckerberg seems to be amazed by a tiny bubble that has appeared before him and he serves to protect the bubble at all cost upon seeing what the bubble might be capable of. As the bubble grows bigger, surrounding bystanders become jealous of his success and tries to sabotage and burst it. This forces Zuckerberg to be alone with his bubble and when it finally bursts, as all bubbles will eventually, he has to realise at the end of the day that what really matters is the beauty of the initial bubble forming that captivated him.
Zuckerberg is after all, not a genius by choice and yearns to live sociably well among others.
The Social Network has to be one of the greatest cinematic surprise that expands the boundaries of an auto-bibliographic genre. Apparently, many moments in the film will be possibly telling you how nothing is impossible.
The Social Network is impossibly good.