"The Social Network's" Moviemaking Triumph

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright October 7, 2010
All Rights Reserved.                                

            David Fincher’s “The Social Network” [Columbia, 2010] tells the sordid story behind the Web’s most popular social networking site, Facebook, flashing the same explosive energy conveyed by Ben Mezerich’s “The Accidental Billionaires,” chronicling the fiercely competitive development of today’s Internet billionaires.  Fincher matches masterful directing with screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, whose fast-paced punchy dialogue faithfully depicts Mezerich’s secondhand descriptions of brash Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, played with Oscar-like brilliance by 26-year-old Queens-born Jesse Eisenberg.  While there are many fine performances, including Justin Timberlake’s portrayal of Napster founder Sean Parker, Eisenberg steals the show, mirroring Zuckerberg’s personality with frightening accuracy, though Mezerich and Sorkin had no direct firsthand knowledge.

             Above all else, “The Social Network” is a breakout role for Eisenberg, producing one of finest performances of any young actor of his generation.  Eisenberg’s tour de force acting is matched by Fincher’s direction that moves the camera and sound like a carefully orchestrated ballet, achieving near perfection in terms of its tension, transitions and resolution.  Fincher faithfully tells the story of a young Harvard sophomore, Zuckerberg, jilted by his girlfriend Erick Albright [Rooney Mara], for his insensitivity, conveyed by as a cross between high-end autism and a more coldly calculating opportunist.  Reeling from his rejection, Zuckerberg jogs endlessly through Harvard’s stately campus before returning to his dorm-room laptop to publicly humiliate her with Internet pictures and descriptions of her diminutive bra size.  Zuckerberg manages to bang-out the rudiments of Facebook.

             Sorkin portrays Zuckerberg with the same gleeful obsession as conveyed by New Yorker Magazine’s Malcom Gladwell’s description of Microsoft founder Bill Gates in his NY Times best-selling book “Outliers,” consumed with programming during his high school days, working endlessly on the University of Washington’s block-long mainframe computer.  Sorkin succeeded in his vibrant, crisp dialogue of conveying the maniacal nature to Zuckerberg’s obsession of retaliating against his Ex, while, at the same time, creating the basic platform for Facebook.  Sorkin tells the story, in part, through flashbacks, conveying the brutal depositions under withering cross-examination where Zuckerberg faces accusations by Harvard’s Aristocratic Winklevoss twins, Tyler and Cameron [Josh Pence and Armie Hammer], two strapping skullers, actually rowing Harvard to a sixth place finish the 2004 Summer Olympics.

             Without firsthand knowledge of Zuckerberg, Sorkin was forced to accept the second hand descriptions by his former Harvard roommate and business partner Eduardo Saverin [Andrew Garfield], who, according to Mezerich’s book, gave Zuckerberg the so-called “algorithm” to initially build Facebook’s platform. Because much of the story is told in flashbacks interrogating Zuckerberg in a series of brutal depositions, it’s impossible to know the accuracy.  In legal proceedings the truth lies somewhere between the forceful assertions by plaintiffs and defendants. According to depositions of the Winklevoss twins and Saverin of Mezerich’s account in “The Accidental Billionaires,” Zuckerberg appeared cavalier, ripping off the twins for Facebook’s idea and Saverin for a the technical formula.  Sorkin extrapolates Zuckerberg as an intense, brilliant, nerdy but opportunistic computer geek.

             In Sorkin’s account, Zuckerberg becomes more cavalier from his association with Napster founder Sean Parker, whose performance by Timberlake gives “The Social Network’s” its second most compelling portrayal.  Timberlake convinces viewers with a gritty performance, worthy come Oscar time of supporting actor nod.  Sorkin’s well-developed characters were matched by equally convincing acting performances, only exceeded, in the end, by Fincher’s brilliant executed direction, proving, once again, that computer graphics and three-D don’t replace a well-written script, artistic direction and superb acting.  Fincher’s camera work, shot selection, sound editing, scene transitions but especially pacing make “The Social Network” an instant classic in unforgettable moviemaking.  It puts all the right elements together, proving good filmmaking hasn’t changed.

             Fincher’s “The Social Network” sounds a loud shot across Hollywood that successful moviemaking starts with an outstanding screenplay, brilliant acting performances and is tied together by masterful direction.  No three-D or fancy computer graphics were needed to tell a compelling story of American innovation, jealousy, greed and ultimate redemption.  Sorkin performed an exquisite balancing acting, letting viewers serve as their own jury regarding who stole what from whom, creating the world’s most popular social network.  When you consider that Zuckerberg refused to participate, Sorkin presented a fair-and-balanced view extrapolated from multiple sources.  Thanks to the extraordinary acting—especially by Eisenberg—and exquisite direction, “The Social Network” delivers iconic intensity to a riveting story about one of the Internet’s most successful ventures.

About the Author  

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.