Seems Like Most People Are More Interested in Using Facebook Than Seeing Movies About It

Rating: 9/10 (17 November 2010)

Though I think "The Social Network" is a blisteringly good film, I can see why it seems to have landed with a thud with audiences. I'm fascinated by David Fincher's filmmaking when he's at his best (this film, "Zodiac"), but it wouldn't surprise me to find that others think his style is cold and clinical. He's obsessed with facts and details, and though "The Social Network" doesn't stint on things like characterizations and thematic richness, it's just as full of tiny details about computer code, business deals and legalese.
Jesse Eisenberg is perfectly cast as Mark Zuckerberg, at least as Zuckerberg is portrayed in this film. Eisenberg is an inherently unlikable actor, in that condescending way common to pompous techies and bookish intellectuals. He's surrounded by a terrific cast, most notably Andrew Garfield, who plays his best friend and business partner and who later becomes one of his chief enemies when the beast that is Facebook is unleashed on the world. Fincher is a pro at building mood and atmosphere (I can't think of a more atmospheric film than "Zodiac"), and most of "The Social Network" is infused with a sense of impending doom that would feel incongruous in the context of something as trivial as social networking if social networking had not become a force so strong as to change the entire profile (pun intended) of our culture.
Grade: A