Hypnotic, important and unmissable

Rating: 9/10 (25 February 2011)

This late in the game, David Fincher's The Social Network needs no real introduction or proper synopsis. It is a dramatized, debatably truthful version of how Facebook was created by Harvard dropout Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), juxtaposed with two lawsuits with people "involved" in its creation.
When I first saw the film in October, my feelings were immediately uncertain. I thought it was good, but not great, and was left with the same emptiness many people have continued to complain about since the film's release. After having re-watched the film a second time, knowing full well what the experience was going to be akin to, not only do I feel The Social Network is an excellent piece of celluloid, but also the most important film of the year and the current decade. The fact that Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin were able to craft such an intense and wild ride out of something as mundane as HTML coding and alleged "idea theft" speaks volumes for their creativity, and suggests that not every silly idea for a film will turn out as bad as it initially sounds.
Had Fincher's name not been attached to the credits, it would be insanely difficult to even consider this be the work of the same man who gave us Fight Club, Se7en and the Oscar-winning The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. But looking closer, you will immediately notice his calling cards – the frantically paced, hyper kinetic editing style his films have been well known for, alongside his meticulous sense of detail. While we already knew he was a master in both realms, his work in The Social Network only helps cement what a talent he has so quickly become. Every scene is just so incredibly constructed, that it manages to haunt and hypnotize you at the same time. And whereas indulgence and length bogged down Zodiac and practically destroyed anything Benjamin Button had going for it, it is nice to see Fincher scaling back and maintaining brevity I had no idea he still had.
The film would be nothing however, without Sorkin's incredible screenplay. While he may have been adapting Ben Mezrick's The Accidental Billionaires, Sorkin still manages to inject an almost outlandish dose of creativity and originality, and allows the project to become his own. The quick and witty quips between characters, the poetic voiceovers, the heartbreaking diatribes – the film is very much driven by dialogue and the written word, and what easily could have a by-the-numbers adaptation becomes something so much more. Just watching the opening of the film and seeing the rapidly devolving argument between Eisenberg and Rooney Mara, playing Zuckerberg's then-girlfriend Erica Albright, is enough to suggest any naysayers of the project were all so very, very wrong. After the debacle of the underrated Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and the incredibly disappointing Charlie Wilson's War, it was great to see Sorkin bounce back with such an incredible and unforgettable screenplay.
While everything else practically works secondary to the work of Fincher and Sorkin (especially Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' score), they all complement each other to help make the film the experience it truly is. Eisenberg is startling as Zuckerberg, managing to be hilarious, frightening and scared all at once. He maintains all of his emotions at every turn, and gives his best work since his brilliant turn in The Squid and the Whale. Andrew Garfield maintains a deer-caught-in-headlights look for the majority of the film, but it works for his portrayal of the wounded and betrayed best friend. Smaller turns from Rooney, Joseph Mazzello, Max Minghella, Justin Timberlake and especially Armie Hammer are all equally well portrayed and delivered. While they are not exactly unknowns, their lower key status among Hollywood powerhouses helps give an even greater sense of authenticity to the film.
But the film's raw and unhinged power comes squarely from how timely the project is. We scoffed at the idea of a Facebook movie, but it really is the most important major motion picture of last year, and will likely remain one of the most important of the next decade. It stands out in a year dominated by 1980s nostalgia, sequels, prequels, remakes and throwbacks, as something so wildly original and indefinable. The film's target audience of young adults and 20-somethings have lived and breathed Facebook for years.
But Facebook is almost the McGuffin in this case, because the film is not so much about the creation of the social networking website, as much as it is about the attitudes of the people who created it. Sure, there are debates about the authenticity and factual elements in the film, but anyone would be doubting themselves if they did not recognize how very real the jealousy, the selfishness, the bitterness and resentfulness, and the all-for-one attitude of these characters are in our current times. Journalists and writers have been saying for years how attitudes are have been shifting, and the sense of entitlement the younger generation and its peers maintain. While films have come and gone trying to quantify these assessments, and try to define the internet-bred generation, I feel The Social Network is the first to truly get it right, to truly define this generation. The liberal and embellished changes were made for dramatic effect, but they make the project that much more real and hard-hitting. I saw myself being reflected back in these characters, and its hypnotic appeal makes the proceedings that much more terrifying.
I enjoyed but did not adore The Social Network the first time I saw it. But I think with every fresh re-watch, the film will get better each time. It truly is one hell of a movie, and one that will continue to grow with its importance. We laughed at the idea of a movie about Facebook, but with how important it has become to just about everyone in their day-to-day lives, we should have never had any doubts.
9/10.