You like me, you really like me!
Lover: Taken from IMDB
“I have been a fan of David Fincher ever since I saw Se7en when I was 13. I saw all of his films the following week and not one of them disappointed me. That was back in 2003. I loved Zodiac and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button as well, but he really knocked it out of the park with this one. I was fortunate enough to see The Social Network at a screening on 9/16/10 for my college. Eisenberg, Hammer and Sorkin were there and did a Q and A after the film. It was a GREAT experience. All of them seemed excited about the film and rightfully so. The film brilliantly tells the story of college students who go through hell with each other over the credit for Facebook and the damage that comes to all of them because of it. The acting and dialogue were flawless. Eisenberg, Garfield and even Timberlake churn out performances that should get them serious attention come award time. Fincher's direction is also perfect. you can always tell a Fincher film when you see it because his visual style is so striking and The Social Network is no exception. When this is released, please go see it and watch a film that defines a generation and what the world has become.”
A good review, couldn’t agree more on acting and dialogue. I think that stylistically this is no where near as visually impressive as Finchers other films, but The Social Network is a power house of a movie and make no mistake.
Hater: Taken from IMDB
“The social network to me is just another proof of recent mass hysteria where we can't distinct good from bad. This cheap drama-soap dramatically rewrites the history and I guess that's what made me angry. This is too much of a recent history and they're using real names in a docudrama setting. To me, this is history manipulation and not dramatization of a real story! 1)How lame that the Napster founder is played by the girls idol Justin. 2)How lame that he's talking about social networking as if he discovered it! Geez! Facebook just added a few very smart add ons, the social networking is certainly not their idea! I'd rather see a movie about the guys who actually did come up with the social networking idea i.e. profiles not for dating, but for friends. 3)Facebook is based mostly on cheating, lying, copying and misleading (i.e. Did u forget that back in the days we all used to receive this "friends invitations to join facebook?" Do u remember that facebook once u joined misled u on entering Ur e-mail password and then hacked into Ur address book and sent ALL of them an invitation to join face-book without our permission??) This film is a horror film about how horribly well things work if Ur smart and unethical. As far as the film goes it technically work fine, it's interesting that Mark is somehow honest about himself not being such a nice person, but under my humble opinion this whole film is made to fill Mark's vanity issues and wanting to stay in history as the founder of social networking, which is simply a lie.”
I think this person’s problem is with facebook not this movie, so really this review is a bit defunct. Who cares if the writers have taken some liberties if it makes the films better, it’s been done countless times before!
What I thought:
I was as I think everyone was; a little dubious about this film, say it out loud “a movie about Facebook” it sounds terrible! This could not be further from the truth, The Social Network is actually more gripping than you would think. Put it into context, Mark Zuckerberg is ‘that’ friend, every group must have the person that says and does unbelievable things without really noticing they’ve done anything or hurt anyone. The only difference, Zuckerberg just happens to be the genius behind Facebook! So the usual friends falling out that happens to all of us and forgotten within month’s maybe weeks is escalated into a major law suit. Very much in the public eye this feud over the creative rights of Facebook put in stark reality the nature of Social Networking and just how important it has been.
Now it sounds riper for a film ah? David Fincher captures this and what I like most about it; he captures without his usual visual flairs. The Social Networks main feats are in its dialogue and cool as you like acting! The screenplay oozes with sharp tongued wit for almost all characters but Zuckerberg most of all, played by Jesse Eisenberg to perfection. The casting is perfect and that’s even with the left hook of casting Justin Timberlake who is unbelievably good in this! Andrew Garfield making you feel genuinely sorry for the guy who was gradually pushed out and the Winklevoss Twins played brilliantly and very funnily by Armie Hammer.
Back however to Eisenberg who’s performance as the founder of Facebook is utterly compelling, throwing off the Michael Cera comparisons to give us a character that before he knew it was caught in a whirlwind had last everyone he actually cared for. It’s important that you feel conflicted about him, some hate him and some will feel sorry for the guy, as in the end he was a young man who (with little help) came up with an idea that revolutionized the way we communicate.
The Social Network is everything you have heard, it is a landmark film in many ways and it is a film of our times. More importantly it’s actually just a really entertaining bit of cinema.
