Classic Film Review #20: The Social Network

Available on Netflix

David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin’s biopic of Facebook head honcho and general shithead Mark Zuckerberg might play fast and lose with history, but nonetheless makes for a fascinating character study, as well as a thought-provoking essay on the moral ambiguity of social media.

Sorkin's screenplay, based on a 2009 bestseller by Ben Mezrich, is the vital component that makes The Social Network such an unexpectedly riveting watch. The dialogue is sharp, challenging, and often laugh-out-loud funny, eliciting stand-out performances from a pleasingly understated cast. Jesse Eisenberg in particular is entirely believable in his portrayal of Zuckerberg, a man whose fierce intellect is as self-destructive as it is pioneering. Strong turns from the supporting cast, in particular Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake, help the audience further gauge a feel for the unpleasant social nuances of the worlds of both Harvard and Silicon Valley.

Fincher’s ever-dependable direction also keeps the film moving at a pace that is swift enough to stop proceedings from ever feeling cumbersome. His decision to move the action intermittently from past to present is an effective one, allowing us to gradually build up an understanding of how Facebook was born and, most importantly, the brains behind it.

Indeed, Zuckerberg is an intriguing case study on the 21st century success story; here is a man that built a billion dollar empire from his dormitory, initially in an act of spite against the teenage girls that eluded him (or so we are led to believe). Eisenberg, Fincher, and Sorkin paint their subject as an emotionally detached loner that is incapable of empathising with his fellow man, a shortcoming that results in the in-court dissolution of his only friendship. It’s hard to come away from the film with any sympathy for Zuckerberg (after all, is it actually possible to feel sorry for a billionaire?), but it’s equally difficult to direct total contempt towards him.

In that sense, The Social Network achieves a delicate balancing act that few other biopics manage, delivering a fully-rounded portrayal of a complex, contradictory, and of course challenging subject matter.