Over a decade old now, "The Social Network" still holds up as one of the best and most talked-about films of the new millennium. With its great script from Aaron Sorkin and director David Fincher's unique eye for filmmaking, The Social Network more than earns all the praise it gets.
The film loosely follows the events of Mark Zuckerberg's building of Facebook from his days in Harvard. As Facebook becomes bigger, Mark's world rapidly expands. But his success leads to Mark making several enemies as well.
The Social Network has one of the best balances between writing and filmmaking you will see in any film. Sorkin's Oscar-winning screenplay is already the stuff of legends with his signature rapid-fire dialogue taken to the next level. The screenplay maintains a perfect balance throughout the entire runtime, making it constantly engaging, and re-watches worth it. None of these works however without David Fincher's usual calculated approach to filmmaking. Fincher makes a story like this more cinematic than anyone would have thought possible. Fincher is a known perfectionist thanks to his constant reshoots of scenes. This gives all of his films unique visual styles that set them apart from other films, and The Social Network is no exception. This is aided in no small part by the Technical team that Fincher has assembled here. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross bring their A-Game with one of the best film scores out their thanks to their outside approach to music. Cinematographer Jeff Crown's brilliant eye for depth and field create a world that the film has all to its own. Film editors Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall are also essential in keeping the pace alive and moving which lead to another well-deserved Oscar.
The Ensemble is also great led by a career-defining performance by Jessie Eisenberg. Eisenberg is more than up to the task of carrying much of the film on his shoulders. His portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg is a person that's hard to connect or even get along with, but his intelligence and drive keep him from becoming unlikeable and it's that balance between smug and genius that keeps us on our toes. When we get to that final scene with Mark sitting alone on his computer, we neither hate nor fully get behind him, yet we still sympathize with him. But while Jessie Eisenberg is the running engine of the film, Andrew Garfield is the beating heart. Andrew Garfield is just as good as Zuckergerg's friend and business partner turned enemy Eduardo Saverin. Saverin is loyal to Mark often to a fault, and it's his friendship and falling out with Mark that showcases the film's message of the darker side to the Rags to Riches story. When Justin Timberlake enters the film as Napster founder Sean Parker, he acts as a perfect foil to Eduardo. He is like the devil on Mark's shoulders, with his advice and influence pushing Mark further away from Eduardo, who as Eduardo accurately puts it was his "only friend". Armie Hammer is also good as the disgruntled Winklevoss twins who believe Mark stole their idea. This further shows the film's theme of the price of success, which in their and Eduardo's case, is the making of more enemies than friends.
While The Social Network is turning 12 this year, its reputation has stood the test of time. It's now at the point where it is in the discussion of one the greatest films ever made.
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