The Social Network

My old review of Social Network is still up, from when I first saw it during lockdown, but long story short I loved it. The story riveted me from start to finish, despite or perhaps because we are in the headspace of the often-insufferable Mark Zuckerberg. Here is a biopic that doesn't require us to love or even admire the subject, all the while his life story is still compelling. I was blown away by the sharp Aaron Sorkin-written dialogue and the pacing, brisk but never breakneck, and was instantly obsessed with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' robotic synth soundtrack. This is one of the most perfectly structured screenplays I've seen put to film, one that deserved all the awards it got, and easily some of the best work Sorkin has ever done.(I say this as someone who doesn't care much for either his recent films or his increasingly-tone-deaf politics). Not seeing Social Network until a decade later was a mistake on my part, considering what a great film it is, but if anything it works better in the 2020s than it did in 2010. Now that 'the house Zuck built' (now it's "Meta", like that makes any difference...) has had its demonstrable, often destabilizing effect on the world, seeing Social Network now feels scarily prophetic. No one thought "the Facebook movie" would ever work, but in Fincher and Sorkin's hands, paired with the pitch-perfect casting of Jesse Eisenberg as Zuckerberg, it worked wonders. People are still watching and talking about Social Network a decade and a half later, certainly more so than that year's Best Picture The King's Speech.(thanks, Weinstein, for the bloated Oscar campaign for an otherwise forgotten movie!). Watching the film again, I am still in awe of how well this riveting, fascinating, frustrating, sometimes very funny film holds up. Beyond the screenplay, the film's style perfectly captures the chaotic nature of Facebook's creation. The steely, desaturated color palette and the pulsing Reznor-Ross score underline the cold, corporate world of Mark Zuckerberg and the Winklevoss twins.(who I still can't believe were created using a digital double. This is extremely convincing, near-invisible VFX work). With a sweeping, lively score and traditionally "beautiful" shot compositions, we would not be as sold on the coldness that the Harvard tech scene embodied in the 2000s. I was even more struck by how well-edited the feature is, going by at a pace as quick as Zuckerberg's brisk thoughts, but never overwhelming the audience. The film runs at exactly 2 hours, enough to cover every major plot point with the time and care it needs, but not too much to the point of filler. Once again, this is a perfectly structured script and one that I'm glad is studied as much as it is. These qualities are enhanced by the performances, led by Eisenberg's Zuckerberg. He is phenomenal in the part, sometimes painfully awkward and sometimes detestable (seriously, he first created Facebook as a site to rate students' attractiveness, all without their permission, and to complain about his ex... what a prick), but always embodying the part. Yet he doesn't embody the part to the point where his performance becomes too Oscar-bait showy, and draws too much attention to itself; all the while having an uncanny resemblance to Zuckerberg and his mannerisms as he speaks. The supporting cast are just as good: the standouts would have to be Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin, who acts as a voice of reason amongst the legal battles, and Rooney Mara as Zuckerberg’s failed date Erica Albright. It’s a short part, but a memorable one, a character whose bitterness towards Zuckerberg we understand and often side with. Justin Timberlake also gives a memorable turn as Napster's Sean Parker, a perfect choice for a character that calls for rock-star energy... but the less said about Armie Hammer, the better. As the film ends with "Baby You're a Rich Man" (a rare usage of an original Beatles recording), we are unsure of how to feel about Zuckerberg's rise to power. One could find the rise in power of a Harvard blogger inspiring; or you could find the rise in power of a chronically-online, raging misogynist, who arguably took an entire idea for a website, depressing. And considering how consequential the creation of Facebook has been on the world at large, things get even murkier: he always had the money and resources for the invention, and ultimately created one of the more destructive corporations today, all the while failing multiple debates against Congress. It's scary but also comforting to see this uncertainty of the effects of Facebook all the way back in 2010, and in that respect, Social Network never really aged. It has aged like fine wine, as one of the best and most important films to have come out this century.