So much has already been written about The Social Network that it is hard to know where to begin in yet another assessment of this week’s, and possibly this year’s, most talked-about cinematic release. While Facebook may or may not be an important part of your life, there is no denying its pervasive social presence even among the barely computer literate, and this makes a movie about its almost accidental advent into the world of the Internet something of an historic event.
As biopics go, it is generally agreed that The Social Network is not the place to go to understand the life and mind of Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook. This is probably why The Social Network is such an exciting film. The characterization reduces most of the characters to types, bulldozing through nuances of personality with indifference; nevertheless, although the people who populate this film are much less than the real people they depict, they are also much more.
Battle lines are drawn between a new generation, represented by the otherwise contradictory personalities of Zuckerberg and Napster-founder Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake), who stand against virtually everybody else. These young men feel the power of genius running through their veins and believe it their sacred duty to thumb their noses at the likes of Microsoft and the music industry, respectively.
What makes the story so appealing is that even the protagonist is taken aback by the power of the thing he has created. (This doesn’t stop him from taking all the credit.) Parker sees the potential of Facebook, and becomes a Mephistophelian presence in Zuckerberg’s life at a key moment in the project’s development. While there are many fine performances in the film, the actors do not so much perform as serve as vehicles for the delivery of Aaron Sorkin’s juggernaut of a script, which keeps the film barreling forward at a tremendous pace despite what one might have thought of as rather dry material to form the basis of the film: the two legal cases in which Zuckerberg became embroiled following Facebook’s success.
The film opens with Zuckerberg being dumped by his girlfriend Erica, and many of his less attractive characteristics are on display within the first minutes. The exchange ends with Erica telling him: “You are probably going to go through life under the impression that girls don’t like you because you are a nerd, but I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, is that that won’t be true. It will be because you’re an asshole.”
In revenge against her, Zuckerberg puts together a prank site that is a full-frontal assault on womankind, but which shorn of its misogynistic elements became the prototype for Facebook.
Photos Courtesy of Sony Pictures
There is a rock ’n’ roll quality to The Social Network as the socially awkward Zuckerberg morphs from geek to superstar. The film manages to show that those superstar qualities are in the eye of the beholder, and Zuckerberg manages to remain his unpleasant self even at the end of the movie. He may have changed the world, or at least the way a large portion of the world communicates, but that’s where it ends. He is still the same person he was when he vented his hostility about a girl on the Internet. As one lawyer comments toward the end of the film: “You’re not an asshole, Mark. You’re just trying so hard to be.”
Zuckerberg is brilliantly played by Jesse Eisenberg, who manages, just barely, to retain some audience sympathy even as he is delivering some of his most devastatingly arrogant, self-absorbed dialogue. Despite oozing a belief in their entitlement, the other characters, such as Eduardo Saverin (a well-judged supporting role) and the Winklevoss twins (mostly played by Armie Hammer), are still more normal than Zuckerberg. Although they are behind the curve in their understanding of the huge potential of Facebook, they are neither depicted as stupid nor evil opponents to innovation.
In terms of character development, The Social Network is of little interest, but the scintillating dialogue composed by Sorkin is glittering enough to keep us enthralled without the usual need to someone among the cast to root for.
Photos Courtesy of Sony Pictures
So while purportedly about Zuckerberg and Facebook, The Social Network is in fact a sketch of a moment in the history of the Internet. Issues such as the monetization of Facebook (the main battle between Zuckerberg and Saverin), the potential violation of privacy and the viral nature of online appeal are all touched on, and this context is more important than whether Zuckerberg wins his legal cases or gets back with Erica. In fact, as many people will already know, he settled with both parties. The issue of whether he gets the girl is left hanging as an unanswered request to be friends sent out from Facebook.
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