The Social Network

Plot synopsis:
In October 2003, Harvard University student Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) has the idea to create a website to rate the attractiveness of female Harvard undergraduates after his girlfriend Erica Albright (Rooney Mara) breaks up with him. Over the course of a single night, Mark hacks into the databases of various residence halls, downloads pictures and names of female students and, using an algorithm for ranking chess players supplied by his best friend Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), he creates in a few hours a website called "FaceMash.com", where male students can interactively choose which of two girls presented at a time is more attractive.Mark is punished with six months of academic probation after the traffic to the site brings down parts of Harvard's computer network, and he becomes vilified among most of Harvard's female community. However, the popularity of "FaceMash" and the fact that he created it in one night, while drunk, brings him to the attention of Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss (Armie Hammer and Josh Pence), identical twins and members of Harvard's rowing team, and their business partner Divya Narendra (Max Minghella). As a result, he gains a job working for the Winklevoss twins as the programmer of their website, Harvard Connection.Soon afterwards, Mark approaches his friend Eduardo and tells him of his idea for what he calls "Thefacebook", an online social networking website exclusive to Harvard University students. He explains this would let people share personal and social information securely. Eduardo agrees to help Mark, providing a fee of $1,000 to help start the site. Once complete, they distribute the link to Eduardo's connections at the Phoenix S-K final club, and it quickly becomes popular throughout the student body. When they learn of Thefacebook, the Winklevoss twins and Narendar believe that Zuckerberg stole their idea while simultaneously stalling on their website. Cameron and Divya want to sue Mark for intellectual property theft, but Tyler convinces them they can settle the matter as "Harvard gentlemen" without resorting to the courts.A few months later, at a lecture by Bill Gates (Steve Sires), fellow Harvard University student Christy Lee (Brenda Song) introduces herself and her friend Alice (Malese Jow) to Eduardo and Mark. She asks that the boys "Facebook us", which impresses both of them. The girls invite them to a bar, where they have sex in the toilet. Mark later runs into his ex-girlfriend, Erica, who is not aware of The Facebook's existence because she is not a Harvard University student. Stung by this, Mark decides to expand the site to more schools. Christy, Mark, and Eduardo later return to Mark's room where they outline the structure of the company and their plan for moving forward.By the spring of 2004, the Facebook grows in popularity, and it expands to other schools in the Northeastern United States, while the Winklevoss twins and Narendra become angrier at seeing "their idea" advance without them. Tyler refuses to sue them, instead accusing Mark of violating the Harvard student Code of Conduct. Through their father's connections they arrange a meeting with Harvard President Larry Summers (Douglas Urbanski), who is dismissive and sees no potential value in either a disciplinary action or in a lawsuit against Thefacebook website itself.Through Christy Lee, now Eduardo's girlfriend, Eduardo and Mark arrange a meeting with Napster co-founder Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake). When Christy, Mark and Eduardo meet Parker at a trendy Fusion restaruant in New York City, Eduardo becomes skeptical of the eccentric Parker, noting his problematic personal and professional history. Mark, however, is impressed with Parker since he presented a similar vision of Facebook. Although no deals are reached, Parker suggests that they drop "The" from Thefacebook to make it simply "Facebook".That summer, Mark moves the company's base of operation to Palo Alto, California at Parker's suggestion, while Eduardo remains in New York for seeking advertising support. When Eduardo visits from New York, he is angered to find that Parker is living at the house and making business decisions for Facebook. After an argument with Mark, the vindictive Eduardo freezes the company's bank account and returns to New York. Upon returning, Christy and Eduardo argue about his Facebook profile, which still lists him as "single". Christy accuses Eduardo of cheating on her and sets fire to a scarf he gave to her as a gift. While Eduardo extinguishes the fire, Mark angrily calls him on the phone about freezing the Facebook bank accounts, and reveals that they have secured money from "an angel investor" through Parker's contacts. As a result of Christy's jealousy, Eduardo ends his relationship with her.Meanwhile in England, while competing in the Henley Royal Regatta, the Winklevoss twins become outraged that Facebook has expanded to a number of universities there and they finally decide to sue Mark. Eduardo has also discovered the deal he signed with Parker's investors allows them to dilute his share of the company from a third to less than one tenth of one percent, while maintaining the ownership percentage of all other parties. He confronts his erstwhile friend Mark at his new Facebook office in downtown L.A. and announces his intention to sue him.Later that night, Parker, along with a number of Facebook interns, is arrested for possession of cocaine during a party thrown on the occasion of Facebook's 1 millionth member. It is strongly implied (but never fully explained) that Mark had anonymously tipped off the police to raid the frat house where the party was held and probably had someone plant drugs at the party to intentionally have Parker and his interns arrested to remove them from the Facebook company.In the final scene, a junior lawyer for the defense informs Mark they will be settling with Eduardo, since the sordid details of Facebook's founding and Mark's cynical personality will make a jury highly unsympathetic to him. The film ends with Mark sending a friend request to his former girlfriend Erica on Facebook, and refreshing the page every few seconds waiting for a response that never comes.

Tags: revenge, comedy, entertaining, prank

Review:
So there I was, sitting in the cinema waiting to see 'Inception' greeting every belated trailer with a groan, each one prolonging the time till I could finally see one of the most anticipated movies of the year and there it was, I turned to one of my friends "my god..a film about facebook?!.." To say I was skeptical for those few moments would be an understatement, I was almost angry, like a footballer who releases an autobiography 5 years after he starts his career I just didn't understand the timing of it, who cares anyway?"I think this is Finchers new movie actually""DAVID Fincher?
The gritty 'Se7en' and the intelligent 'Fight Club' had been two of my favourite movies growing up, the latter of which I had the privilege of studying in college quite in depth and although I missed 'Benjamin Button' (only god knows why it took me until 2013 to watch!) I had thoroughly enjoyed the enigmatic 'Zodiac' as well.'Social Network' became my favourite Fincher title almost immediately.
I've always been a huge fan of Trent Reznor & Nine Inch Nails but with his partnership with Atticus Ross and his ongoing collaborations with Fincher (also see 'Girl With The Dragon Tattoo') I can only see them becoming the most formidable artists in the industry, every minor note resonates perfectly throughout the film and creates a beautiful texture on top of an already excellent piece of work.Secondly, Sorkin's razor sharp screenplay is something a director can only dream of receiving, the dialogue never falters and it is always witty, sincere and hilarious all in one (which can also be attributed to the performances of the actors involved)But most of all, the atmosphere that Fincher is able to create visually is stunning, huge credit must also go to long time collaborator Jeff Cronenweth, together their formidable partnership and undoubted perfect understanding of each other's work is clearly the factor behind this film being one of the best movies of the past decadeGreat performances from Eisenberg, Garfield and Timberlake also help this movie stand head and shoulders above most and as one of the most promising young actresses in the business, Rooney Mara is given her first chance to truly show her quality in a small role.It's difficult to say where 'Social Network' will stand when we look back on Finchers body of work but one things for sure, if it isn't seen as one of his truly great masterpieces then he is sure to become one of, if not the most powerful director in the industry for years to come..
The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous – once again, Fincher proves that he is probably getting the best results in digital photography out of any other director working in that medium, and this film, shot on the RED One camera, looks absolutely beautiful, from the framing to the camera movement to the lighting and on to the look and the feel of the depth of field the RED captures.Sorkin's script is also an impeccable achievement and showcases, once again just what a genius this man really is.
His counter in the film is Saverin, played brilliantly by Andrew Garfield, a name we will be hearing a lot more of of in the next few years: Saverin is a far more sympathetic character, more warm and inviting – these traits only increase the impact of the tragedy of Zuckerberg's betrayal of their friendship.Many pundits and commentators have designated this to be the "film that defines our generation", and truly a "product of its time" in the most literal sense of the word.
However, I'm not sure I like this designation, especially since once you watch the film, you very quickly realize that this isn't a story about the founding of Facebook; it's really a story of friendship, ambition and betrayal, a character study of this fascinating individual whose actions in the film happen to depict the invention of an online social networking site that gets out of hand and puts all of his relationships, especially that with his best friend and business partner, in jeopardy.
A story centred on a teenager who becomes the world's youngest billionaire, a web site that reaches a million users in two years, and a cast of real life characters with names like Zuckerberg and Winklevoss just shouldn't be possible.
The all-important, sparkling script is courtesy of Aaron Sorkin who gave us "The West Wing" - the best television series ever - and yet apparently does not do social networking.At the heart of the movie is a brilliant, Oscar-worthy performance from Jesse Eisenberg as the 19 year old Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg, the genius behind "The Facebook" (the social network), the unsympathetic anti-hero of the adventure, a borderline sociopath variously described by women characters as "an asshole" and someone "just trying so hard to be" one.
Jesse Eisenberg plays Mark Zuckerberg as a fast-paced, nerdy, kind of jerk-ish attitude, and Andrew Garfield is his best friend, Eduardo, who at the beginning didn't mean much to me, but I found myself rooting for him by the end.
...and that's "The Social Network".It joins the ranks of his best, and just like many of his his previous works, has been reviled before it was properly understood.For months before it came out, it was the laughing stock of people who were off-put by the idea of a "movie about Facebook" (even though it's easy to look and see that it's about the founding of Facebook and the people behind it), just like "Fight Club" is dismissed as a violent film about people fighting, or that "Se7en" is just a serial killer movie.Not to get sidetracked, though."The Social Network" is filmmaking and storytelling of a high order, that shows the grand irony of a socially inept Harvard student named Mark Zuckerberg who ended up creating one of the largest social phenomena of the twenty-first century (and love Facebook or hate it, it most certainly is that).
The story works as an engaging, fascinating character study; at the beginning of the story, Mark is a socially maladjusted reject, and even after several million 'friends' and a few billion dollars later, he remains pretty much the same.The outstanding acting, style and direction, as well as the great script armed to the teeth with sharp dialogue is what people are likely to miss by dismissing it as a mere 'Facebook movie'.Even if it were just a "movie about Facebook", why is such subject matter off-limits?
Written by soon-to-be-best- adapted-screenplay-nominee/winner Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network's writing is intelligent and demanding on multiple levels: most obviously, the story is cleverly structured across dual lawsuits, but there's an equal amount of sophistication to Sorkin's character work--Zuckerberg is never quite capable of maintaining a dialog, Eduardo always stops just short of explicating his emotions.
The film's score is a perfectly atmospheric concoction of electronica from edgy dark horse best original score nominees Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and it's all united under the name and vision of David Fincher, who did not win an Oscar for Fight Club or Zodiac or Benjamin Button.All of this is to say two things: this is a really great movie from a phenomenal creative team, and also there are times when the film feels somewhat calculated for accolades--never in the repugnantly safe, crowd- pleasing, middle-brow Benjamin Button sense, but in the sweetly transparent sense of a kid who did all his chores and is suggesting that he might deserve a cookie.
"The Social Network" was an incredibly engaging film that, while mainly revolving around the invention of Facebook (and all the problems that the creators encountered both before and after all was said and done), really focused in on ideas and feelings that can be (and are) universally felt through all people, the primary example being trying to fit in.
In a year where movies have received some of the lowest critical ratings (as well as box office earnings) in recent memory, "The Social Network" was, while haunting, truly refreshing and ultimately a triumph in all aspects, whether it be considering the acting, script, or directing.
Fincher took Aaron Sorkin's brilliantly clever screenplay and turned it into a film that highlights the best and worst moments of out technology-based life.The Social Network's first scene is brilliantly written and acted, and it sets the mood that both Fincher and Sorkin want to set for the rest of the film.
I think The Social Network has a lot of similarity to last year's Up In The Air. Both represent a dilemma about people's communications in the modern world, and both can be seen as perfect examples of what life in the 21st' century was like.
I also loved Rashida Jones in the few scenes she was in.With terrific performances from the cast all around, a brilliant script, some fine directing by Fincher, and an engaging score by Trent Reznor, it should be no surprise that THE SOCIAL NETWORK succeeded the way it did.
I thought that facebook was a site for people who wanted to get laid, and I did not see the connection with my political views or opinion about a TV show, so I saw no reason to join.( Also I had enough bad lays in my lifetime, I do not need any more.)When I heard all that Hallelujah about the Social Network movie I went to see it in the hope of understanding the younger generation and facebook better.My reaction leaving the theatre was mainly relief that I am not young anymore.
The real story of this, movie (?) it that of a virgin dork, sick of playing with himself who takes up programming.He does a good job, makes a site that attracts a lot of no life kids, then decides to use his money to get over the past experiences from high-school, by inventing a story about how he has a lot of foes.I simply cannot understand what attracts people to this site, and this so called film.Furthermore, I cannot understand how humanity can idolize a nerd, just for giving lame kids a chance to meet boys/girls.Fabricated story, lame result.If your IQ is over 50, you can't enjoy this trash.Over and out..
Apart from a good idea of the plot being intertwined in two lawsuits and a couple of nice scenes like the row race in the UK (wonderfully filmed) the movie is just impossibly schematic and, let's not be afraid to use this word, boring.
Facebook and the Internet in general is a massive part of today's world, so making a film on this subject seemed like an interesting idea.The acting in this movie is very good, Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield in particular (two of the main characters).
The story of Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg, acted with as much flatline self absorption as the character he portrays - a compliment) and Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield in the most sensitive, multifaceted performance in the film) and their brainy computer manipulated program that became the ruler of the computer universe is well told.
Some time ago, many people openly demonstrated their skepticism about the idea of making a film devoted to the Facebook founders but today and at this very moment, no touch of irony is seen, while the movie confidently enters the top of best flicks of this year.
It didn't entertain me.I understand that many folks might find Mark Zuckerberg's rise to Facebook CEO interesting; however, I suspect that a good many more people will not--I am among the latter.About eight years ago, former San Diego Union-Tribune movie critic David Elliot wrote eloquently of a movie's need to personally reach a viewer's psyche before the individual can embrace it.
The dialogue is sharp if unnatural (typically Sorkin) and delivered in rapid-fire fashion, sometimes (as in the opening scene) hard to follow (but the fans of this won't admit that, because that wouldn't make them smart enough); it is set in a subterranean darkness, much favoured by modern films (does nobody like daylight anymore?); it has a 'clever' (but dramatically distracting framing device; and a soundtrack designed more to sell CDs as to work on screen from the awful opening plinky plonky piano tune (representing what exactly?) to the loud inappropriate underpinning of the various scenes of drug taking or programming (the music makes no distinction between these activities).In the end, we feel this is a typical product of the post-modern age: slick, shallow, cynical, derivative, dark and disposable..
Perhaps it's because of its relevance to our times, like last year's Up in the Air. Unlike that film, though, The Social Network is especially pertinent to me, because Facebook is such a huge part of my life.
Also worth noting is Rooney Mara, who has a small role but does big things with it, and will get her chance to shine under Fincher's direction again as Lisbeth Salander in the American take on The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.At two hours, The Social Network is a long movie but it never feels like it.
Director David Fincher's The Social Network stars Jessie Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg, and depicts how he became the billionaire behind the popular Facebook website.
But, even he seems to be selfish, childish, and immature throughout, using his family's money as a means of making or breaking friendships throughout the movie.Everyone else in the film seems to be "even bigger" j*rks than the character of Mark Z., going around trying to intimidate their enemies and each other without really accomplishing anything or, again, wanting anything real except for "revenge." It's difficult watching a movie like this where there's no one to latch on to emotionally.
Scripting and acting keep you interested all along but there's absolutely nothing in it you would feel like discussing with your friends after it reaches the 2h mark when it's time to close shop.So you may think David Fincher is a great director, I just think he has a talent for building his team, which is just half the job.
That's a little disappointing, considering that David Fincher (Seven, Zodiac, Fight Club) is the director, but the movie isn't much more than a run-of-the-mill history movie about a subject matter – websites – that's not particularly compelling.In 2003, Harvard undergrad Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg, Zombieland) creates a quickie site called Facemash, which takes head shots of female coeds and puts them side by side, allowing male users to rate which one is more attractive.
In this respect, the story behind Google or Napster would have been even more interesting.real characters are rewritten in ways which I'm sure only retain a portion of the truth, and a not-so-subtle commentary on social mobility and glass ceilings is made which in fact is not pertinent at all here.If Fincher wanted to make a film about stupidity and its different forms, and about the mediocrity and the moral desert his society lives in, he succeeded.
The Social NetworkUsually, when a nerd invents something, it is promptly captured, decapitated, and the stolen panties returned to the girls' dormitory.However, in the case of this dorkenstein, his creation was allowed to flourish.After he is dumped, a supercilious Harvard student, Mark (Jesse Eisenberg), creates a vicious website that attracts the affluent eyes of the Winklevoss twins (Armie Hammer).After agreeing to program a social networking website for them, Mark then takes their concept to his benefactor Eduardo (Andrew Garfield) and begins work on his own social network.When the site launches, so, too, do lawsuits from the twins, as well as Eduardo.The analysis of an asshole, The Social Network is a profound film, thanks to director David Fincher and Jesse Eisenberg's haunting performance.And the best thing about communicating via electronic devices is that–just like in real-world conversations–you never have to look away from the screen.
I also found irony in the fact that Mr. Zuckerberg did not cooperate in any way with the making of Social Network because it exposed his private life to the world - but, yet, at the same time, the general public is encouraged to give him (Facebook) as much of our personal information as we can!
He's not the most pleasant hero, but his story makes for two incredible hours of cinema, and all those involved should be proud.While this film certainly is more than just "the Facebook movie," it still is, first and foremost, about the founding of the irritatingly inescapable social networking site.
This film succeeds because of a number of things, but in my opinion, number one on that list would be Aaron Sorkin.Mark Zuckerberg is an absolute fascinating character played brilliantly by Jesse Eisenberg.
It's his best performance so far."The Social Network" tells the true story of Facebook but the best thing about this movie is the dialog, acting, directing.
Mark my words in years and decades from now The Social Network will still be watched and talked about by a lot of people and will go down in history as one of the best films of all time.
This film is so evident that people are somehow meant to socialize, I'm not speaking as an expert here or whatever, but by just witnessing all my friends and relatives speaking the lingo "Facebook Me", or "Add Me As Your Friend" is such a testament that we actually do care to care about other's lives I don't know if it's good, but most people claim it's fun and so the rest of the film.Based on my few learnings about this movie, Mark Zuckerberg just like many other guys got the better out of him because of a girl and the inevitable Heartbreak which, on the other hand brings out the best out of a man.
The Social Network tells the story of how Mark Zuckerberg, a Harvard University student, comes up with the idea of Facebook, and the ensuing legal battles he faces.