The Social Network 4

by Sinoun • Reviews • Tags: , , , , , ,

Whether you’re a Facebook fan or not, chances are, you’re probably a tad curious about the backstory of the boy-wonder billionaire. How did a socially-marginal undergrad end up at the apex of Internet super-stardom? Well, the film’s tag-line says it all: “You don’t make 500 million friends without making a few enemies.”

A film about Facebook could’ve been cheesy and silly, but it negated all the lame possibilities and ended up being a huge success. In The Social Network, Mark Zuckerberg is a geek of questionable sanity with no sense of social etiquette. His behavioral oddities get him unwittingly dumped by his girlfriend and slandered by a slew of students. He’s so painfully untrained in the art of human interaction he makes Dr. Evil look like Dale Carnegie. Jesse Eisenberg will certainly become a hot commodity after this winning performance.

Z-berg has only one true friend, Facebook’s original chief financial officier, Eduardo Saverin, whom he ends up screwing over and consequently gets sued by. Andrew Garfield (slated to be the next “It” boy and Spiderman) portrays Saverin in a very likable light, making him the only character we feel sympathy for.

The film darts back and forth between the Harvard dorm-room beginnings and two deposition scenes. Zuckerberg is faced with not just one, but two lawsuits.

The other lawsuit involves two hot brothers – the Winkelvoss twins – aka “The Winkelvi” – who along with a hugely annoying business partner, claim Zuckerberg stole their social-networking idea. Somehow, Zuckerberg is able to avert an ass-kicking by these two athletic adonises. That’s because the “men of Harvard” do not engage in such barbaric acts; why use fists and kicks when you’ve got lawyers and dollars at your disposal, right? Cheers to that, brothers.

Sean Parker is another central character; he’s the Napster founder who introduces Zuckerberg to Silicon Valley. Parker’s a paranoid, ecentric genius, notorious for dabbling with illicit drugs and underaged girls. Parker’s got a sweet deal regardless of how he’s portrayed – he’s played by Justin Timberlake. He comes across a smooth, well-connected womanizer who knows how to own every place he walks in to – kind of like JT himself.

Every character is well-developed, fully-engaging and perfectly cast. What makes them interesting is that they’re only partially true to their real life counterparts. They’re more like caricatures, those cartoonish drawings done by street artists, who exaggerate each feature for an amusing, outrageous effect. One would also assume the actual events occurred with less drama, less intrigue, and certainly less excitement. I too would hope that the movie version of my life undergoes some spicy embellishments, to make it seem like I lived a crazier, more bad-ass life than I actually did.

The movie plays out more like a Shakespearean tragedy than a factual biography – which it doesn’t claim to be. Facebook’s founding is the film’s focal point, but beyond that, the makers have taken liberties with the details, resulting in a fabricated and exaggerated version of the truth – which is what makes it so good. The Social Network benefits from slick storytelling, smooth editing as well as some serious acting. It’s biggest asset? The fascinating subject matter.

The Social Network didn’t just entertain me, it inspired me as well. More than just a movie, it’s a snapshot of our current zeitgeist and its league of extraordinary youthful ambition. There are certain scenes that really resonate with our generation and capture our digital era. When Sean Parker talks to Zuckerberg about unhinging themselves from the hooks of corporate control and establishing success on their own terms, he’s also addressing the Millenials – us – who have the resources and tools at our disposal to create and contribute to the world we live in. “This is our time” he says, with the unique conviction of a youthful visionary and experienced entrepreneur. You could almost see visions of world domination and massive dollar signs swirling in Zuckerberg’s eyes as he hears those words, solidifying his determination to create the social reality he desperately wants for himself.

Facebook is not just a social networking tool, it’s a system that plays on one of our most intrinsic needs – the need for acceptance and belonging. In setting out to create Facebook, Zuckerberg didn’t want 500 million friends – he only wanted one. It’s clear from this brilliant film however, that his biggest enemy is himself.