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The Social Network

A 2010 movie directed by David Fincher.

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The Accidential Billionaire

Nov 11, 2010

by ryguy4738
posted in Movie Hype

Rating:

**** out of ****

I knew that David Fincher was a talented director, but this is unexpected. "The Social Network" is David Fincher's finest film; a movie that it both bright and surprising. Who would have known that out of all the people to do it, David Fincher would be the only one to make "the Facebook movie", as some are calling this film. And thanks to flawless direction from Mr. Fincher, "The Social Network" is even more interesting than its premise makes it out to be. This is a beautiful, flawlessly crafted film, and it is one of the best, if not the best, film of the year. Now, I know what you're probably wondering, and let me put it out there that I understand all-too-much where you're coming from. You're probably wondering how the hell a movie about the founding of Facebook can be perfect and critically acclaimed. Luckily, I've got an answer for this one, and it can be said in but one word. That word is effort; a little thing that very few directors would have put into a movie like this. What could have easily been another great premise down the drain turns out to be one of the best great-premise-executions in recent memory. I mean, this is the best you can get with a Facebook movie. A flawlessly crafted film simply cannot be beat. And to make things even better, I feel smarter upon watching the movie. I thought not only about what was going on in the film, but also about what these fine intellectual characters were talking about. In that sense, "The Social Network" a very, very interesting movie. Hell, it might as well be the most interesting movie I've seen since "Donnie Darko" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". That's how good it is. It's not only thought provoking, but it's more complicated than it seems. It's easy to follow given how flawless it is, although there are complications underneath the straight-forward yet brilliant story that this film tells. Long story short: I loved this movie. It felt good to be watching a film so intelligent; so unique in its telling. It's so good that half of the story seems to come from the production of the thing, and what a story it must be. The filmmakers did something that's relatively hard to do: Have fun without having fun. Perhaps it's not too easy to tell, but the filmmakers worked well with the actors. I don't imagine that it was but a simple "Hello, we're going to film this movie" and "Goodbye, I forgot about you 6.8 hours ago". I think that both Fincher and lead star Jesse Eisenberg will cherish this as their finest film respectively. This is, without a doubt, the best film I have seen in cinemas this year. It is by all means a good contender for Best Picture, and I hope that it wins it. Because no matter how many awesome movies come out in the course of one year, there's always got to be a film that one could call their "personal favorite"; the masterpiece to end all masterpieces for the particular time that it is popular. Well...this is that film. It breaks the mold; it puts the icing on the cake which is its premise. And it's a powerful, effective experience. I still haven't got over it. I never will. All I can say is that if you haven't already seen it, then see it. I found there to be no problems with this film, and it was fun to watch; in that quirky, highly intellectual sort of way. Never has watching someone be an asshole been this amusing.

"The Social Network" is about the biggest online social network in existence. And you know what that is right? If not, then it's Facebook. "The Social Network" is basically about the creation of Facebook, and it follows the creator himself, Mark Zuckerberg. Along with some other real-life co-founders, Zuckerberg rises up to internet fame with his site throughout the film, although most of the film is spent re-capping while discussing serious legal issues. Zuckerberg is sued and often times rejected on a social level for his brilliance, which often gets in the way of his social skills. If I were to guess what's up with this guy, I'd say that he has Aspergers Syndrome. I believe this not only because of his character's technical brilliance, but also because of the way he acts. People consistently claim he is an "asshole", although if he does in fact have Aspergers Syndrome, then he's no asshole. Even so, watching an "asshole" on screen has never been as fun, funny, and amusing as this. Zuckerberg is a new sort of character, and luckily he's not the only creative mastermind who makes an appearance in this film. Sean Parker, creator of Napster (which has since been shut down), also wedges his way into being a supporting yet crucial character. So the film really seems to go off with a "bang!" when Mark Zuckerberg gets a wild idea; to create a social networking site where one can determine almost anything about another person from their "status" or "info". This site turns into Facebook, which we all know of by now because of its popularity. Zuckerberg has envisioned the future of virtual communication, although his vision does not go without questioning (usually in the form of heavy legal issues). In order to not spoil to much, I will stop there. All you need to know as far as a premise goes is that this is "The movie about the founding of Facebook". If you need to know more, then ask someone. I don't want to spoil anything, I really don't. This is a good enough film for me to encourage all readers to go and see this film, that is if they already haven't. I'm assuming that most film buffs are already in the process of watching this film as it has been regarded as one of the best films of the past three decades. It has been called "Modern Filmmaking at its best". I agree with whoever has said that. This is fine, modern filmmaking. This film could have easily been made years ago, although the existence of Facebook doesn't exactly go "way back". "The Social Network" is like a Hitchock film, a Francis Ford Coppola film, and a Martin Scorcese film all tied into one big helluva movie. "The Social Network", as it stands, is going to be hard to beat. I doubt that anything else releasing this year (that includes you, "Inception") can come as close as "The Social Network" gets to being one of my favorite films of all time. That's how interesting it is, and that's how involved I felt. In the end, I felt more complete. This movie makes you feel complete, as it turns out. It makes you feel smarter. It makes you feel riveted. And it will inspire a whole generation of filmmakers to dedicate themselves to a film, and achieve what was thought to be the impossible. And as it turns out, you don't need an entirely original idea to be one of the best films of the year. As it turns out, all you need is a book, a great actor, great characters, and a witty script to make your movie compelling. What an experience it was.

Jesse Eisenberg is a talented actor, although this is him at his finest. Eisenberg plays a perfect asshole, or "aspie", if the term would apply to Zuckerberg's character. Not only is Zuckerberg as intelligent as this film, but he's also entertaining to watch through his brilliance. He is indeed what most would perceive to be an asshole, but his social ignorance comes from his dedication to his intellect. He never seems to throw something like that away, not even when he faces legal issues. It is because of his character's intelligence that Eisenberg feels to be the only actor capable of tackling a young(er) Zuckerberg as a new role. It was a match made in movie heaven, as one would say. Andrew Garfield is basically the first supporting actor who we are introduced to, and I must admit that he was mighty fine in this movie. It's almost as if since "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus", everyone wants the guy for their film. As it turns out, his other skills, aside from moving in physically weird ways, include being an awesome and consistently interesting dude. Justin Timberlake, one of my main speculations of the film, also turned out to be quite good in this movie. Surprisingly, the guy can act. At least for this film. Brenda Song is another supporting actor/actress, and she also turns out to be a surprisingly good one. When Song isn't being Disney's dog, she's doing some pretty solid acting. I'm not saying that this film alone makes her a good actor, but it's a landmark in her acting filmography as far as that goes. The more minor supporting cast for this film is flawless. It's almost as if Fincher left nobody out of the film's utter brilliance; leaving nobody for dead. Instead, he gives everybody significance and gives every actor something to talk about.

The substance of this film is incredible. Underneath the smart script and wonderful acting is an artistic, flawless film. What "The Social Network" brings to the table is perfection; something in which this year is seriously lacking. For starters, "The Social Network" is intensely shot. The camera angles may not be flat-out zany, but the picture is perfect and the camerawork is flawless. It may not seem like much to look at, although believe me, it is. The soundtrack to the film is also pretty good. It may not be amazing, but I liked it. The original score is pretty good and the licensed soundtrack is somewhat better. The film also happens to have a good sense of humor. I laughed consistently throughout the film, as frankly, it was funny stuff. The jokes were actually clever and the humor never was really immature. But what I find to be most artistic about this film is the combination of all things good about it. When you take the visual style, the music, the acting, the characters, and the story and put it into one big thing, you get one of the biggest movies in years. You get a film that is almost unanimously said to be a masterpiece; a critically acclaimed piece of work. I think that "The Social Network" is memorable and legendary; a movie that is simply not worth missing. I think that it will appeal to just about anyone with a mind open to unending amounts of intellect.

You really have to watch "The Social Network" to know why it's so amazing. This could have as easily been a disappointment, but David Fincher continues to impress me with his craft. But this time, he tops everything he's done. Yes, "The Social Network" is better than "Se7en". Yes, it's even better than "Zodiac". That's how amazing it is. I imagine that there will be some who wish to merely criticize the film because it so unanimously acclaimed, although those people miss the point. I think that MOST people will agree that "The Social Network" is a perfectly powerful experience. The good news is that there are two ways to experience it; in the theaters or at home. Either way, the experience remains effective. Where or how you watch it should by no means effect how good it is. What truly seems to effect your interpretation is your own mind and intelligence. Without your personal viewpoints, you may not be able to like this movie. Mind you, I understand why you may not like the "Facebook Movie", although the reason will probably be "because it's THE FACEBOOK FREAKING MOVIE". I understand if you are skeptical of this film. I know I was. I was uncertain of how well Fincher would be able to shift from Serial Killer pieces to Social Networking films. As it turns out, he's so multitalented that he can make "the Facebook Movie" and make it his best film yet. I'm pretty much convinced that Fincher can make any movie good as long as it's not pretentious like "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (which I heard was good yet pretentious) or amateur like "Alien 3". Nevertheless, neither of them can match the perfection of "The Social Network". This may be a contender for Best Picture and more. Best Actor, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Adapted Screenplay. I think that "The Social Network" should by all means win every one of those. That's how much I loved this film. I loved it so much in fact that it's already snuck its way into both my memory and my movie-loving heart. That's how perfect it is.

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devora November 12, 2010

Awesome review, Ry! Thanks for sharing. I still need to catch this!

ryguy4738 November 12, 2010

I suggest that you do as soon as possible.

devora November 12, 2010

I plan on it! :)

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woopak_the_thrill November 12, 2010

wow...stunning review! thanks for sharing and welcome to the community!! I will feature this review for sure!

ryguy4738 November 12, 2010

Thank you, sir. You'd really feature it? That's wonderful!

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About the reviewer

Ryan J. Marshall (ryguy4738)
Ranked #13

It's very likely that the only kind of reviews I'll ever post here are movie reviews. I'm very passionate about film; and at this point, it pretty much controls my life. Film gives us a purpose; … more

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About this movie

Wiki

The Social Network is a 2010 drama film directed by David Fincher about the founding of the social networking website Facebook. The film features an ensemble cast, which consists of Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Brenda Song, Max Minghella, Rooney Mara and Armie Hammer.

The film was written by Aaron Sorkin and adapted from Ben Mezrich's 2009 nonfiction book The Accidental Billionaires. The film is distributed by Columbia Pictures and is set for an October 1, 2010 release. None of the Facebook staff, including founder Mark Zuckerberg, will be involved with the project. One of the co-founders, Eduardo Saverin, was a consultant for Mezrich's book. The film is distributed by Columbia Pictures and was released on October 1, 2010.