When I first heard that the guy who wrote The West Wing was writing a film about Facebook I thought it sounded ridiculous but after the first trailer I knew I was wrong.
With Aaron Sorkin you are guaranteed a certain level of quality and speed of dialogue, and with 8 pages of dialogue being delivered within the few minutes that make up the opening scene, you are prepared the the rest of the film. Witty conversations fly back and forth as the film thunders forward at an amazing pace.
This pace is maintained by David Fincher, a directer with plenty to be proud of on his IMDb page, who manages to keep people either talking or typing on computers engaging for a full two hours. Not to mention pulling off a brilliant bit of actor duplication with the twins.
Jesse Eisenberg plays a brilliantly mannered version of Zuckerberg, different to his previous roles, a social awkward figure who has no real ambition to make money, just to make a successful website. That social awkwardness makes Zuckerberg for the most part hard to sympathise with, and yet you don’t really side with those that attack him either.
Andrew Garfield as Zuckerberg’s former best friend probably garners the most sympathy as the betrayed former business partner, and he certainly proves his worth as a big up and coming actor. In what is an amazing film there is surprisingly little heart. Almost every character is looking out for their own personal gain, either for money, acclaim or sex, leaving no one to really root for.
That niggle is easily put aside though when you are presented with such a great bit of cinema, recommended for anyone who has ever updated their status. Especially if they’ve ever done it when drunk.
The Social Network is out this Friday.
Most scathing comment in the film: “Good luck with your game”
Mild Concern 