The Social Network Review

With facebook permeating every aspect of waking existence, it’s hard to imagine how a film about its invention could possibly hold our attention for 1 hour and 55 minutes (without us updating our status). However while the concept of the plot seems pretty dry, David Fincher’s (Fight Club, se7en) take on what at first seems an essentially trivial story becomes, in true Fincher style, a dark tale of one man’s desire for social acceptance.
The story tells of Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), loner Harvard student and computer programming genius who after being dumped by his girlfriend, creates a website rating the hotness of his female peers that spirals into the major social networking site that 300 million people use today.

The film centres around Zuckerberg’s court hearings as he stands accused of stealing the idea for facebook from the laughable trust fund babies: the Winklevoss twins (Armie Hammer), and consequently risks losing his fortune. The narrative then flits between the past and the present as the true origins of facebook are revealed. This makes for engaging viewing and allows for distinct character progression as we see Zuckerberg grow from a desperate college student to a powerful businessman with an ego to match. Eisenberg slots into this role both believably and humorously, aided by clever scriptwriting which sees him deal out lines such as: ‘at the moment I could buy Mt. Auburn Street, take the Phoenix Club and turn it into my ping pong room.’ which provide a sinister comic relief.

Despite Zuckerberg’s socially awkward and desperate persona which renders him likable at the beginning of the film, it is apparent that Zuckerberg is a cold, calculated and ambitious loner who is ruthless in his pursuit for popularity and success. This is shown in his betrayal of his one true friend Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), the co-founder and initial investor in facebook, who is forced out of the business as Zuckerberg is enticed into the big money lifestyle by the manipulative programming maverick and entrepreneur Shawn Fanning (Justin Timberlake), a hero of Zuckerberg’s who essentially uses him to settle old scores.

It is the betrayal of friendship and its’ subsequent consequences that underpin the dark tone of the film. Saverin is an extremely likable and inadvertently gullible character and so the audience are shocked by and truly empathise with his betrayal. The emotional turmoil is intensified as we see Saverin seek his revenge along with the Winklevosses and Zuckerberg’s word begins to collapse around him. Surprisingly the audience finds themselves sympathising Zuckerberg as well as they are reminded of the fragility of his character.

As it transpires, the social network is not merely a retelling of the origin of the global phenomenon that is facebook; it is a carefully considered exploration of the importance of true friendship and how it can be so easily tainted and destroyed by ambition. Both poignant and extremely relevant, it is arguably a film that defines our generation and a definite must see for modern society.

Leah Davenport