Film Appreciation Review

Rating: Null/10 (3 August 2013)

"The Social Network" takes you on the journey to the top of social media, but also takes you on the journey of Mark Zuckerberg's college life. Mark faces a break-up, gains/losses friends, goes through two tough law suits, and makes millions of dollars. Mark, played by actor Jesse Eidenberg, goes through what seems like a tough break up (not because they have been dating for a long time, but more because Mark does not take rejection well). This break up sparks a late night drunken blog spree that ends with Mark creating Facemash, an online hot or not rating system for female college undergraduates. This is the first time you see just how truly brilliant Mark is when it comes to network programming and breaching systems security. Mark's partner in crime, Eduardo Saverin, helps Mark with the rating algorithm for Facemash. In this scene, you get the sense that with these two Harvard geniuses' they could create any type of computer/internet programming.
Facemash eventually crashed the Harvard network and Mark does get into some academic trouble for hacking the system to obtain the needed pictures of the undergraduates, but with this stunt he gets the attention of some other students. Cameron, Tyler, and Henry are also Harvard students that seek out Mark to ask him to be their network programmer for a social media idea that they have. Mark agrees to help them, but in the end never does as the idea they present to Mark is filled with issues. Mark does however elaborate on their idea and partners with Eduardo to ultimately create Facebook. Mark is the brains and the programmer of Facebook; Eduardo is the financial backing and marketing of Facebook. The movie portrays that fame, no matter how much or how little, can divide even the closest of friends. Even though it was out of spite and to prove he could, Mark created Facebook to generate a social media craze that would bring college students together and make it easier and more enjoyable for them to communicate. He sought out to bring people closer but in the end it tore his social life apart.
Facebook takes off quicker than Mark and Eduardo could ever imagine. The movie takes you through the rise and fall of Mark and Eduardo's partnership and takes you through the litigation process as Mark gets sued by not only Cameron, Tyler, and Henry, but also by Eduardo. The movie does an excellent job of calling your attention to the heated or important scenes by the use of silence. You can feel the raw emotion between Mark and Eduardo in court as such a wonderful friendship is coming to a horrible end. Silence is not only used in court, but throughout the movie to call attention and have the audience captivated by the drastic change in sound. The director uses lighting to change the feel of scenes throughout the movie. During the court scenes the lighting is crisp and cold to enhance the coldness of the emotions, during the scenes where Mark is inventing Facebook it's dark and melancholy to showcase how immersed Mark is and how he is shutting out everyone around him to make this idea come to life; brilliant lighting during the party scenes which showcase the rare happy, carefree scenes of the movie. The director really does a brilliant job using the lighting to transition to the next scene and emotion. The actors selected were great at capturing those raw emotions and pulling you into the whirlwind of fame and loss.
"The Social Network" really follows the same bases or theme as the 1999 movie, "Pirates of Silicon Valley" directed by Martyn Burk. "Pirates of Silicon Valley" is about the battle between Apple computers and Microsoft computers and the rise of both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Both movies showcase the familiar theme that fame, if not handles correctly, and can destroy the social life of the smartest of men.