The Social Network: Movie Review

Last night I saw the much-acclaimed film The Social Network, which chronicles Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg’s rise to fame after creating the international web phenomenon in his Harvard dorm room and the subsequent simultaneous lawsuits placed on him by both his former best friend and business partners.

The film opens with Zuckerberg on a date with Erica Albright at Boston’s Thirsty Scholar pub, bringing up his obsessive desire to gain acceptance into one of Harvard’s exclusive final clubs and his insecurity over his inability to become an athlete. After insulting Erica’s intelligence as a BU student, she leaves him with the remark that will frame the rest of the film: “You’ll think everyone hates you because you’re a nerd, but it’ll be because you’re an asshole.”

In a drunken rage, Zuckerberg takes to the internet and, enlisting the help of best friend Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), creates a site that allows people to rate the hotness female Harvard students side by side. After attracting 22,000 hits in a mere two hours, the entire campus is abuzz – administrators and students alike. Rower twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (both played by the Adonis-like Armie Hammer) and business partner Divya Nurendra (Max Minghella) approach Zuckerberg to create a Harvard matchmaking site. Zuckerberg leads the team on, putting his efforts into the creation of Facebook with Saverin instead, and embarking on a whirlwind journey that will eventually make him the world’s youngest billionaire.

The handsome Hammer (left) with Nurendra,

The film is rife with the quick-witted banter screenwriter Aaron Sorkin is known for, having peppered both Sports Night and The West Wing with the same snappy dialogue. Jesse Eisenberg plays the Facebook mogul brilliantly, applying a cool robotic tone to the snide quips of his egotistical yet somehow sympathetic character. Justin Timberlake gives a surprisingly adept performance in the role of Napster creator Sean Parker, the Artful Dodger to Zuckerberg’s Oliver Twist. The frequent SNL host acts with a cocky confidence, oozing with a slimy-yet-irresistible charm. British actor Andrew Garfield also shines in his emotional subtleties.

Eisenberg, Timberlake, and Garfield.

While the film is a bit bleak, with the moral decisions of its protagonist often discomforting, Sorkin allows for smart flashes of comedy here and there with his trademark wit. The film is perfectly paced, every development leaving the audience in suspense of what is to come. There wasn’t a weak actor in the bunch, making what might have been a boring biopic that much more captivating.

My biggest problem with The Social Network is the overall portrayal of the female population and the absence of substantial female characters. Young women are shown shuttled to Harvard club parties like cattle, cavorting about in drunken stupor, and being rated by college boys on their hotness via the internet. When questioned on the subject on the September 30^th episode of The Colbert Report, Sorkin replied that besides Rashida Jones’ trustworthy lawyer character, “the other women are prizes.”

Despite this flaw, the film is well-crafted and enjoyable. It’s the movie everyone is talking about, and for good reason. It is a must-see for my generation.