Helly's Film Take- The Social Network

You would have to have been living under a rock for the last five years to not know what Facebook is. But what most people don't know is the full story of it's creation and the controversy surrounding it's founder, the enigmatic Mark Zuckerberg. I knew tid bits of information from an article I had read in Rolling Stone but I certainly wouldn't have been able to guess just how deep the rabbit hole goes on this topic.

From the very first scene, this movie ignites your intrigue and propels forth, never loosing it's momentum. The dialogue is sharp and punchy but still believable as some of the characters in this film are quite literally geniuses, so naturally they would have an incredible grasp of language. The cuts between the live action and impending law suit scenes really help build your anticipation for the unfolding events, whereas usually so much talking could easily bore an audience.  One of my favourite lines of dialogue comes at the end of the first scene and is delivered by Erica Albright (Mark Zuckerberg's irate girlfriend) -

' Mark, for the rest of your life you're going to think that girl's don't like you because you're a nerd. But I'm telling you right now that it's because you're an asshole!'

The performances in this film are extraordinary. Some of the characters (the Winklevoss' for example) seem  larger than life but it's almost a symbolism for the on-line exaggerated personas that people create for themselves. I know that some of my actor friends were not too thrilled to see Justin Timberlake appear in this movie and think they should have given the role to a real actor. But I have to say that it was perfect casting if you think about the thought process behind it. Fincher and Sorkin clearly wanted to capture the essence of Sean Parker- rebellious, cocky, magnetic...basically a rock star. So why not cast an actual rock star to portray him?! Timberlake oozes charisma as Sean Parker and it's easy to see how the Zuckerberg character could fall under his spell.  Jesse Eisenberg is used to using his awkwardness to endear an audience, the difference here is that his awkwardness manifests itself in such a way that makes it hard for his character to know how to behave in social situations and he's often not very likable (I mean this in a good way.) Still, one can't help but admire Zuckerberg's ambition and extreme intelligence  and he definitely wins you over in the final scene, when you see maybe a hint of regret in his eyes as despite everything, he still wants to just have a friend.

Even if you are the person I mentioned at the top of the page who's been living under a rock and have no idea what facebook is (or just have no interest in it for whatever reason) the themes present in this movie such as friendship, class, betrayal and greed are elemental in creating solid drama and are as old as the dawn of time.

'You don't get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies.' That says it all...