13 November,2010 06:19 AM IST | | Tushar Joshi
The Social Network
U/A; DRAMA
Dir: David Fincher
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Rooney Mara, Josh Penceu00a0
Rating: ''''
What's it about: He's the world's youngest billionaire. Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, is great fodder for a script, especially if it revolves around his rise from being an undergraduate to one of the richest people on the planet. David Fincher puts together what can be called a racy, provocative and extremely engaging exchange of smart dialogues between his lead characters - Mark (Jesse Eisenberg), his college mate and later CFO Eduardo (Andrew Garfield), Napster founder Sean Parker (Timberlake), and a bunch of lawyers at a court deposition. While the periphery of the film has nerd babble about hacking, server tracing and filtering online traffic, at the heart of it lies a simple story of friendship, greed and deceit. What starts off as a mere scribbling of an algorithm on a window, ends up into a million dollar investment that has friends turning into foes and a barrage of litigation and suing across the board.
What's hot: You've got to be living under a rock to not have Facebooked or heard about the portal that has a billion users. Even if you are in the minority, there's not a moment in the film that will pass you by. Credit goes to Aaron Sorkin for writing dialogues that seem like a squash match in session. Right from the opening scene where Mark is about to get dumped, you have lines that establish what's going to follow. The script is the real king. Fincher is a genius when it comes to bringing the right amount of edge andu00a0 grit to the plot. He never goes over the top in being indulgent with the material. Instead he draws you in, almost seducing the viewer with characters that are unpredictable and utterly vulnerable at the same time. In terms of performances, the real sleeper hit of the film is Garfield. Playing someone who's faced sabotage by his best friend comes easily to the actor who uses subtlety to convey the right emotions. Despite all the hatred and anger towards Zuckerberg, Eduardo's eyes light up every time they flashback to the dorm days at Harvard. Timberlake's Parker is a narcissist, and the singer- turned-actor plays it to the hilt. Watch how smooth he is in his first meeting with Eduardo and Zuckerberg, taking credit for dropping 'The' from Facebook just as he makes his exit. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross provide a stunning score that's second best only to Hans Zimmer's Inception. Despite having tech jargon and legal wrangles sprawled all over, the biggest asset of The Social Network is its ability to create drama out of the most tepid moments. Who cares if it's an apt depiction of Zuckerberg? For all the right reasons, Fincher tells a story that's worth sitting down and watching for 120 minutes. The most poignant moment in the film comes in the last frame when Zuckerberg is told, "You are not an asshole Mark, you are just trying so hard to be!"
What's not: The dialogue in the movie is so fast that you have to be attentive all the time! While the start is great, the middle is shaky and the end kind of abrupt. Perhaps Fincher didn't want to be all black and white, hence grey is a tone that describes it the best. While Eisenberg is good as Zuckerberg, there are moments where his 'I have no expression' look gets monotonous. A master at keeping his emotions hidden like his codes, Zuckerberg isn't the most interesting character in the film.
What to do: You don't need to be a nerd to enjoy The Social Network. It's a brilliantly written film that's not just smart, but incredibly sexy, funny and riveting. Bet you would google up Mark Zuckerberg right after walking out of the theatre!
