If, as proud Boston University Terriers, you can all manage to get past the opening scenes of David Fincher’s new highly-buzzed-about film The Social Network, you’re in for two hours of one of the best crafted movies of the year.
The opening scene of the film sees the character of Harvard student and Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg telling his BU girlfriend that she doesn’t need to go home and study, because BU isn’t an academically hard school. As any proud Terrier would do, the girl, played by emerging Hollywood It-Girl Rooney Mara, dumps Zuckerberg and walks out. However, it is this act that prompts Zuckerberg to go home and create an idea that would grow into the social networking site we all know, love, loathe and still use everyday.
Emmy-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, the man behind The West Wing and The American President, turns in a fantastic script. The dialogue is sharp, intense, and flies between characters as fast as the notification pop-ups when someone likes your wall post. Sorkin, a talented writer, should find out when the Academy Awards are being held next year, and circle the day on his calendar. He richly deserves an Oscar for the script. And the actors bringing it to life should expect some recognition, as well. Relative newcomers Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield bring the characters of Zuckerberg and his former best friend and business partner, Eduardo Saverin, to life in a realistic and accurate way. The dynamics between them are real and not forced. One of the most surprising performances in the movie, however, comes from Justin Timberlake, who does a phenomenal job as Sean Parker, the cocky, hotshot founder of Napster, who takes the young Zuckerberg under his wing. Timberlake’s performance seems to comr from out of nowhere, and that’s bad news for anyone who’s a particular fan of his work in the recording studio: if he’s this good of an actor, he might not go back to recording songs for a while.
Overall, the movie is a tale of friendship, betrayal and genius. However, it’s also a great reminder of how easy it can be to slip away from humanity when we hide behind our online personalities. Hopefully this movie can bring people back out of their Facebook shells.
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