Venues
Events
VideoFilm
Ten Reactions to The Social Network
We saw the film earlier today. Here’s what we think.
Photo: Columbia Pictures
| | More
Mark Zuckerberg dies at the end of The Social Network.
Okay, not really, but it’s nice talking about a MAJOR MOTION PICTURE without the fear of spoiling anything for anyone.
1. You know the kind of people who see something in a movie and say to their friends, “Haha, that’s so funny, I do the Same. Exact. Thing. with my hair, too. Carrie and I would, like, totally get along.” There’s none of that in The Social Network. As part of the Facebook Generation (see #9), I’m quite obsessed with the website and can’t imagine life without it, a sentiment I’m sure I share with millions of others. But Sorkin didn’t write a movie about Poking or Tagging; it’s about Mark Zuckerberg the Person. Only the final scene (which is great, by the way) shows Mark as a Facebook consumer, not its Grand Poobah.
2. Along the same lines, Sorkin also didn’t try to write the definitive Facebook film, whatever that means. He wrote about a specific time in Zuckerberg’s life, beginning with Harvard, and didn’t bother with the “why he’s the way he is” question, or some traumatic back-story that doesn’t exist. His parents are well-off Dobbs Ferry-ites, and there’s very little mention of anything in Zuck’s pre-Harvard life. It’s a pretty typical story, but so is Zuckerberg’s. He’s not good with people, so he creates a website that he can hide behind and become popular. Been there, bro. Minus the creating Facebook.
3. Seeing Justin “JT” Timberlake play Shawn Fanning is odd. Think about it: when Napster was at its most popular, between 1999-2001, so too was *NSYNC, Timberlake’s boy band. You have to wonder how many times “Bye Bye Bye” was downloaded illegally via Napster, although JT’s doing pretty well for himself. Chris probably could have used the extra royalties, though. As for Timberlake’s performance: smarmy and well done.
4. People give Jesse Eisenberg a lot of flack for his acting, or lack there of. I’ve often read about how he’s too similar to Michael Cera or any number of so-called “hipster actors.” The Social Network should change that perception. He still speaks quickly and wears Gap hoodies, but Eisenberg does a fantastic job of portraying Zuckerberg as someone who’s constantly distracted by the millions of ideas swirling around in his mind.
5. But is he an asshole? A reporter in the post-screening Q&A asked David Fincher that (and then had a follow-up about Timberlake’s voice acting work in Yogi Bear). Predictably, the director wasn’t very happy. My take: yes and no, which I know is a bullshit answer, but it’s the honest one with Zuckerberg. He’s not a nice guy (begin typing “Is Mark Zuckerberg a…” on Google and the fourth suggestion is “douche”), but he’s also not a terrible person, at least in the way he’s portrayed in The Social Network. The entire film is essentially about a jaded 18-year-old getting dumped by his girlfriend (played by Rooney Mara), and then trying to win her back. His way of doing this is creating a website that’s now valued at $25 billion. If you were that young again and were, well, a genius, would you do anything differently? The real-life Zuckberg kind of seems like an ass, though.
6. Speaking of Mara, she admirably kept up with Eisenberg in the few scenes she’s in and I’m now convinced she’ll be ready to play Lisbeth in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Fincher’s next big project.
7. The Social Network doesn’t “feel” like a David Fincher film, partially because, in his words, it doesn’t feature a man aging backwards or a serial killer. Just don’t bring this up to Fincher; he’s totally sick of the question—and rightly so. Loaded doesn’t feel like a Velvet Underground album and yet, it is. And it’s great.
8. I don’t think the Trent Reznor score worked. I’ve never been a huge Nine Inch Nails fan, but I’ve always appreciated his work. In this movie, though, it seemed overly dramatic and more fitting of a thriller or horror film. There are also only two rock songs in the movie, one coming at the beginning and one right at the end. I asked Fincher why they choose to end the film with a certain Beatles song (won’t say which) and he basically said the answer I hoped he would: he heard it on his iPod one day while walking around and thought it worked well in that scene. Done and done.
9. Right after the film ended, without even thinking, I checked Facebook on my phone. Zuckerberg’s a genius.
10. Is it Oscar worthy? Yup. I think it’ll receive a Best Picture nomination, and while Eisenberg, Timberlake and Andrew Garfield are all convincing, I’d be shocked if they got anything. I expect a Best Adapted Screenplay nom for Sorkin, though, along with Fincher receiving recognition for his directing.
Grade: A-