The Social Network
Aaron Sorkin’s name has been buzzing as the smart and witty writer of this poetic fictionalization of the creation of the 500 million members website Facebook and its ensuing legal controversies. “Website” is indeed a very banal and insignificant name to give such an ever-expanding project that started as an Internet social hang out for Harvard students and is now an international platform for all kinds of communication. The focus of the film is mostly Mark Zuckerberg – his oddities as a human being as he slowly “discovers” Facebook – and the bitter young men who are suing him.
Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg in the wordy and smart 'The Social Network,' directed by David Fincher
In addition to the work of Sorkin as the word mastermind behind the operation, the director, David Fincher, gives the film a certain unsettling yet engrossing ironic artificiality; and Jesse Eisenberg, the jittery and fast-talking actor, plays the paradoxical role of innocent asshole to perfection. I have been following this young actor since The Squid and the Whale and he is turning out to be one of our generation's best. This is Fincher’s most exciting work since Fight Club (although Zodiac was not a bad endeavor). He makes commercially crisp images while adding a sense of adventure to everything-- from the brothers competing in row to the slow-motion capture of two equally naïve young men taking in the sales pitch from Sean Parker (nicely played by Justin Timberlake).
I am not sure how far this smart and captivating film goes in terms of pushing cinematic boundaries, but it sure is a significant step towards recognizing and understanding the monumental effect of web media on our social and political realities.