Summary - Really Great 4.5

There’s a certain irony in the fact that the man responsible for creating Facebook, one of the world’s greatest social networks, is personally so difficult to deal with. Or, at least that’s the way Mark Zuckerberg is portrayed in The Social Network. Exquisitely portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg, Zuckerberg comes across as an obnoxious and arrogant computer geek, who creates Facebook after seeing the potential appeal of a cruel computer program he created that rates co-eds.

The story itself is well told, and certainly topical, as Facebook seems to permeate more and more of our society, helping to define the way a generation learns to socialize. But in the end, I had to wonder if it will stand the test of time. Did I enjoy it? Yes. But I fear I enjoyed it only because Facebook is something that I can relate to at this moment in time. A better question may be would this same movie hold my interest in 5 or 10 years. Given the way technology changes so quickly, and fads come and go, that remains to be seen.

That being said, it was a good movie. The life of Facebook is treated almost like the life of one of us. From its inception, where Zuckerberg clearly recognizes “It’s live”, to it’s struggling infancy and then rapid growth, we see it develop, learn, refine, and mature to the product we recognize today. As pointed out in the film, there really is no “end” to it, merely continual refinement. I noticed that early parts of the film were mostly night scenes, with dark hallways and warm, rich wood paneled rooms on the campus of Harvard, its birthplace. As the movie progresses, we see increasing movement into more lighted scenes, and rooms with more color and “life”. I suppose there could be all sorts of Freudian arguments that this is symbolism for life itself.

But we also see greed, and betrayal, and ambition, and a need for acceptance. That’s the rub for me. Here we have a brilliant individual, who craves attention, living in a competitive academic setting, who can best relate to people through a computer. At one point in the movie, he sends a “friend request” to a woman who just turned him down for dinner. When life’s relationships failed him, he hid behind the safety of the internet.

So, after months of waiting to see this movie, and being one of the last of my friends to watch it, I thought it was really good. Not perfect in my opinion, but really good.

Acting - Really Great 4.5

Jesse Eisenberg gives a great performance, capturing a snobbish behavior that alienates others. I was also impressed with Justin Timberlake in his role as the creator of Napster.

Film - Really Great 4.5

Great scenes on campus of Harvard, along with some interesting and creative shots of crew racing stood out for me. I struggled to understand what was being said in some parts. When Eisenberg, and some of the other speak quickly and with purpose, the lines get lost. While it helped to re-enforce how brilliant the analytical thought process was of these folks, it made it difficult for a mere common man like myself to keep up. Two of the bar scenes also were drowned out a bit by background music. Now, to be fair, I watched it on DVD, so perhaps the theatrical presentations didn’t sound the same as I would find in my living room.

Edge - Risqué 1.8

He's portrayed as a jerk, and it comes across like that.

Reality - Natural 1.0

3 Comments

• Wick Mar 17, 2011 9:22PM

  Regarding hurwizzle’s Review
  Pirates of Silicon Valley, huh? Just added it to my Gotta VuList.

• Wick Feb 26, 2011 1:47PM

  Regarding BigdaddyDave’s Review
  Great observation about the movie’s “Freudian arguments”.

• Wick Oct 3, 2010 11:12PM

  Regarding DrakeReviews’s Review
  Great video review Drake. Solid observation on the camera angles, especially during the post-breakup scene when he’s running back to his dorm. I also thought the music during that scene worked especially well.

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