Facebook is a cultural addiction, a technological phenomenon, a global crossroads. Its reach is indisputable. Available in 76 languages, including Upside Down English and Leet Speak (l33t sp34k), Facebook has more users than the United States has people. According to Facebook, these users spend 700 billion minutes on the social networking site each month and boast an average of 130 friends. Facebook has overcome time zones and tight schedules, will power and work ethic. It has infiltrated our consciousness as a society. It has, in short, defined us.
It began, however, by defining its creator, Mark Zuckerberg. David Fincher’s “The Social Network” begins the same way.
Embittered by the rude awakening of a sudden breakup, Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) sulks, drinks and vents his anger in the only way he knows how – online. He fashions a website that allows guys to compare Harvard girls based on looks, which earns him academic probation as well as the attention of three entrepreneurial undergraduates: the fabulously gorgeous twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss (Armie Hammer with body double Josh Pence) and their friend Divya Narendra (Max Minghella). The three successfully enlist Zuckerberg’s help in creating a Harvard-exclusive social networking website.
From this point on, the film follows two carefully intertwined storylines – one documenting the inception of Facebook, the other the legal action surrounding Zuckerberg’s alleged theft of the website idea from the Winklevosses (or “Winklevi”).
“The Social Network” traces the disintegration of Zuckerberg’s personal life and simultaneous rise of Facebook. It is an unabashed dramatization of real life, but under Fincher’s direction, it deftly avoids mainstream melodrama in favor of artistry, gravitas and honest, character-driven conflict. Like “Fight Club” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” the movie is characterized by dark lighting and a complex but cleanly edited narrative structure. And although Fincher elicits striking moments of truth throughout the film, he opts to showcase a rather romantically glamorous, altogether fictional image of prestigious universities. Abrasive realism and attention to the grit of college life, which would have augmented the film’s believability and boldness, are not indulged.
Fincher’s directing is buoyed by the intelligence and class of screenwriter Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of Ben Mezrich’s “The Accidental Billionaires.” Sorkin drops witty remarks like staccato notes. Yet at times, the dialogue’s razor sharpness makes “The Social Network” feel more like a blockbuster heist than an extraordinary coming-of-age story. This imbalance of entertainment and sincerity is softened, but not entirely erased, by the cast’s earnest delivery.
The characters themselves are simply drawn but well-acted. Eisenberg as Zuckerberg is an idealistic but arrogant asshole committed to “taking the entire social experience of college and putting it online.” Fincher’s storytelling complicates our understanding of Zuckerberg by portraying him as a liar, but as one who manages to avoid our criticism thanks to his inherent aloofness and close-mindedness. British actor Andrew Garfield (lead of the new Spiderman reboot) assumes a perfect American accent as Facebook’s Chief Financial Officer Eduardo Saverin, balancing mature seriousness with emotional naïveté. While the Winklevoss brothers are written as borderline caricatures of real people, Armie Hammer commits with gusto to their Ivy League righteousness and privilege. Lastly, Justin Timberlake as Napster’s wild card creator effectively communicates Sean Parker’s delusional antics.
The film’s only great flaw lies in the fact that none of its characters is likable. While likability seems superficial, as one character – a legal associate played by Rashida Jones – points out to Zuckerberg, mere likability can determine a jury’s decision. “Myths need a devil,” she says, and Zuckerberg fits the part. The overriding unpleasantness of the characters in “The Social Network” prevents us from deeply empathizing with them, caring about where they end up and ultimately, enjoying the film to its fullest. As the protagonist, Zuckerberg fails to warm our hearts. He largely internalizes his conflicts, which Eisenberg aptly portrays, but this absence of visible emotional impact on his character makes his journey a flat, predictable one. What little change he does go through lacks weight due to the apathy with which the audience regards him. Saverin comes the closest to establishing empathy with us, but his coolness during the legal talks makes that feeling difficult to hold on to.
While undoubtedly one of the year’s more impressive films, “The Social Network” is not entirely perfect. Its shortcomings, however, do not detract from the potency of the actors’ performances or from the high drama of the story itself. Fincher’s take on the intrigue surrounding Mark Zuckerberg’s rise to unfathomable success will certainly captivate, if not thoroughly impress, Facebook’s 500 million users.