The Social Network
Amazing that a movie like this can be so engaging and compelling. No one dies, there is no romance and there are no obvious 'everyman' themes, but I can't remember the last time I saw a movie that was so human. The actors are all superb, the pacing is perfect, the intrigue is fascinating and the questions posed about our identity as a species are all expertly posed with subtle wit and a poised sense of intuition. The movie is about the creation of Facebook and of exactly who is entitled to what in that monstrous feat, but this movie is really about the inadequacies people feel about themselves and what they feel they need in order to get a sense fo fulfillment. This drives the movie, and is resident in every single character. At the end of the day, Facebook gives people something easy and instant access to that fulfillment. That is not so much about the quality of Facebook as an indispensible service but more about the vulnerability of human beings and how it affects their decisions. I welcome movies like this that ask relevant questions about the modern world and whether or not people are mature enough to responsibly play with all the new toys they've been given in the last twenty years.
Eisenberg delivers a tour de force performance as Mark Zuckerberg. I've never seen an actor flat out dominate a scene with his emotions the way Eisenberg does here. His stern, perpetually irritated expressions lend a sense of arrogant impatience to everything he does, and yet there's a vulnerability in his portrayal of the Facebook mogul: without going into great detail about it, you can tell Zuckerberg (as portrayed in this film) is an unfulfilled person, someone seeking something he doesn't know how to get even though he has all the talent and ability in the world. There's a bit of self loathing in there, which he tries to eliminiate through accomplishments. The movie communicates the idea that he's unhappy with himself and the only way he can feel 'whole' is to accomplish something in his own way, by his own rules and without honoring or adhering the social mores of the times. He wants to walk his own path and be accepted and appreciated, but even when he achieves that and can casually give 65 million dollars away in a settlement as though he's discarding pocket lint, there is still a longing inside him. For all the character's outward insensitivity, he's a remarkably sensitive person. Eisenberg perfectly nails that, and never more poignantly than at the prelude to the officewide celebration of Facebook hitting 1,000,000 users; at a time when he should be elated, he's more frustrated than ever and obviously feeling guilty over what's about to happen between him and founding partner Eduardo Saverin (played by Andrew Garfield with the perfect amount of frustration and vulnerability.) The movie establishes that Zuckerberg could be very happy if only he would let himself be.
The other amazing performance in the film is Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker, the co-founder of Napster who, according to this movie, weasled his way into Facebook's hierarchy. He plays Parker, but he may as well be playing the devil with the way he insinuates himself into Zuckerberg's life. The film portrays Parker as a predator, preying on the weakness of others and inwardly gloating over every personal victory he takes from them. He's really shown, in this film, to be a guy lacking any real talent other than taking advantage of others, and that makes such a person all the more dangerous and realistic: we all know that many successful people are exactly like Parker, opportunists who cash in without actually doing anything substantial. True, he opened doors for Zuckerberg, but those doors would have opened without Parker's influence. But Zuckerberg is so dazzled by Parker's magic man sales pitch that he can't hep but be beguiled: Parker has, in Zuckerberg's mind, already achieved what he wants for himself. He's like a god to him at one point in the movie.
The irony on Timberlake, an artist in the music industry, protraying Parker as a deceptive scumbag and a thief of intellectual properties, is not lost on me. I got the sense that this was an artist striking back at an art leech. Parker, at one point, boasts that even though Napster lost the law suit, they won the battle against the record labels: "You want to buy a Tower Records?" he sardonically asks Saverin after a lunch meeting that has Saverin frustrated and Parker, already the victor, licking his chops. Parker claims to have assassinated the recording industry even though he lost the lawsuit. Is this the recording industry getting its revenge on Parker?
David Fincher has created an excellent film, definitely the years best movie in my opinion.
5 out of 5.
