FILM: THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Mark Zuckerberg was a man on a mission, who set out to achieve notorietyamong the Harvard community and gain entry into elite alumni. Howeverenormous he thought this obstacle was, it paled in comparison to what hehas created. Eisenberg delivers a darker performance than what we areusually given. His manic delivery is heightened by fear of failure. Thedesperation he feels to continue to improve seems to consume him andwhen asked by Sean Parker (Timberlake) if he “lives Facebook” the answeris a resounding “Yes!”. It’s a credible performance that harnessesEisenberg’s nervous energy and he comes across equal parts genius andasshole.
Timberlake as NAPSTER founder Sean Parker is surprisingly good as the”snake” that forces Zuckerberg to “bite the apple”. There is nothing compassionate about his character and one can’t quite tell whetherTimberlake is actually acting or just being his usual self. One nice moment is found in an exchange between Parker and Zuckerberg when Parkerdescribes the music industry and how he relishes having ripped them off.Timberlake may have appreciated the opportunity to thumb his nose at hishome turf.
Andrew Garfield is a relatively new face. His portrayal of EduardoSaverin, Zuckerberg’s best friend, is both exciting and engaging towatch. His treatment during the creation of Facebook and his role as CFOthat lead to Zuckerberg being sued comprise a large part of the film andGarfield shows great characterisation and feeling as Saverin.
Credit must go to Armie Hammer who seamlessly delivers contrastingperformances as the Winklevoss twins who engaged Zuckerberg’s services.With the help of editing he created a dynamic exchange between thebrothers that was effective and meaty.
Rashida Jones in a supporting role was good though like Rooney Mara, whoplayed Zuckerberg’s girlfriend, she wasn’t given enough screen time totruly flesh out the role. Despite this, both girls played pivotal rolesin the piece that served the plot well.
Sorkin’s writing was witty, fast paced and well used however at times itwas perhaps too smart for the target audience. It tended to get bogged
down in the “nerd speak” that, whilst interesting to some, will notexcite the wider audience this film will be exposed to. If Sorkin was looking for a balance between his ‘THE WEST WING’ and ‘BIG BANG THEORY’the scales are tipped in favour of the former.
Cinematographer Jeff Cronenwerth gave us the visual spectacles that wereFIGHT CLUB and SE7EN so it’s no surprise that those themes of blurredearthy colours carried over to NETWORK. Like the story itself there wasnothing bright about the vision. This is a hallmark of a Fincher filmandthe winning formula continues here.
Trent Reznor contributed electric ambience to the soundtrack of IRON MAN2 and his talents are used again here, providing an appropriatelyelectronic soundtrack that complements the film without taking over theon screen action.
Fincher harnesses all of this in typical fashion and delivers anotherfilm worthy of repeat viewings. THE SOCIAL NETWORK doesn’t pack the samepunch as SE7EN or FIGHT CLUB yet it still holds up and in a story basedon true events there is only so much poetic license you can take onsomething so well known. At least they got the jersey’s right.
Really enjoyed this film