The Social Network

As the film ended and the crowded theater filed out, I couldn’t help thinking that many of them didn’t consider how important this story actually is to their daily lives. It doesn’t tell of any brave war moment or anything, like you'd expect, but in reality Facebook is a bigger part of the daily lives of Americans than war is. This film tells of how a few college students changed the way people communicate and keep in touch. On the surface it looks like the story of how some jerk screws a lot of people out of the credit and money they deserve. But the film is by no means an unbiased account of the events.

The plot follows the origins of Facebook and the ensuing disagreements and lawsuits between the parties involved. Jesse Eisenberg plays Mark Zuckerberg, the controversial CEO of the website and the main target of all of the allegations. While Eisenberg’s performance strays from impersonation, he does a remarkable job of growing more dislikable with every scene and somehow resolving the plot with sympathy from the audience. Soon to be Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield plays the roller coaster ride personified in CFO Eduardo Saverin, who is left in the dust while Zuckerberg expands Facebook with Napster founder Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake) at his side. The three lead actors, whom are all making their first impact in the world of Oscar-buzz, are quite strong in making their individual cases to be Hollywood heavyweights.

It’s obvious that this fall is the anti-blockbuster season with a lot of intellectual stories invading the screen. I am absolutely loving it. The Social Network is an incredibly gripping film that is written in the context of revealing the origin story of a worldwide phenomenon. The actuality that every event is not a concrete fact does little to hurt the film, but the script keeps a realness that can convince an audience and get them interested. And on a closing note, is it just me or are all these big fall releases preaching the same thing? It sure seems that pursuit of success through money leads to destroyed relationships and loss of self. Wall Street 2, The Town, and The Social Network seem to think so. I better look out because I’m making buckets of dough off this blog. Let’s all roll our eyes together. (9.5 out of 10)