Harvard computer student, Mark Zuckerberg (Eisenberg), wants to do something to get noticed. It consumes him. When he gets dumped by girlfriend, Erica (Mara), he spends the evening creating a website that rates the women on campus... while he's drunk. He escapes with probation, and gets noticed by some upper-classmen with a plan. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (Hammer) and Divya Narendra (Minghella) want to create a social network site, Harvard Connection, and hire Mark to create the site.
Meanwhile, Mark gets the idea to create a social network site that offers the college experience (see quote above). His best friend, Eduardo (Garfield), provides a thousand dollars to start the site and serve as the CFO / financial end of the company. And his roommate Dustin (Mazzello) joins as a programmer for the site. As the website, called The Facebook, becomes popular, they acquire "groupies" and work towards expanding to other campuses. And Mark faces a lawsuit from the Winklevoss twins.
I did not want to see this film. Facebook was created in 2003... it's too soon to make it a movie. I have a Facebook account and have since it was established at my college (either 2003 or early 2004)... it was called "The Facebook" and had a picture of Mark Zuckerberg in the upper left corner of the screen. It has changed a lot since then. But on principle alone, I wasn't interested in seeing it.
A friend brought it over, and then it was nominated for a few Oscars, so I finally gave in... and I'm glad I did. I don't know how accurate it is, and I genuinely don't care, but it was good. It was written by Aaron Sorkin, who created / wrote Sports Night, The West Wing, and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. The script and dialogue definitely have a Sorkin flavor... you can hear it in the dialogue. I'm not as familiar with director David Fincher. I've seen 2 of his older films and am anticipating his version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the rest of the films in the Millenium Trilogy. Somehow, Fincher took the Sorkin script and made it his own. It is a well-made film that expects you to keep up with its breakneck pace.
The cast is alright. Jesse Eisenberg's version of Mark Zuckerberg is a jerk... he starts as a jerk that you feel sorry for, and in the end he is an arrogant jerk that you just want to hit. The rest of the male characters are o.k. They all have aloof qualities... some act like entitled jerks and other invoke some pity, but they aren't attainable characters. The women are not memorable. Rooney Mara is in most of the pictures associated with the film, but is barely on screen. Brenda Song brings the crazy, and all other female characters don't have names or personalities.
A well-made, memorable film. It might be a good contender for the Oscars, but not my favorite film of the year.
The Social Network (2010) 120 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for sexual content, drug and alcohol use and language
Director: David Fincher
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg
Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin
Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker
Armie Hammer as Cameron Winklevoss / Tyler Winklevoss
Brenda Song as Christy Lee
Max Minghella as Divya Narendra
Joseph Mazzello as Dustin Moskovitz
Rooney Mara as Erica Albright
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