Facebook film The Social Network gets nerd love

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      Starring Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield. Rated PG. Opens Friday, October 1, at the Fifth Avenue Cinemas

      Don’t be fooled by the bland title.The Social Network, as depicted in David Fincher’s spectacular application of Aaron Sorkin’s articulate script, refers to nothing less than the haphazardly hidden class hierarchy of North American culture.


      Watch the trailer for The Social Network.

      Battering at the old walls here is Mark Zuckerberg. Played in a career-defining performance by Jesse Eisenberg (who has previously inhabited sweeter souls), the real-life founder of Facebook appears to be a passive-aggressive genius who was inspired to start his own online society—way back in 2003—after getting royally dumped by his Harvard girlfriend (Rooney Mara).

      The tale begins with their extended parry and thrust, and that’s the last time we see the hoodie-hidden Mark engage a female of the species in more than three lines of conversation. He’s much closer, if that’s the word, to business major Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), who initially bankrolls the venture. We know things will go badly for them because Network is framed by legal depositions pitting the Facebook friends against each other and Zuckerberg against privileged twins who claim he stole their campus-only concept.

      The dark-hued movie looks beautiful, and one of Fincher’s few visual extravagances, compared to his stylized efforts in Fight Club and Seven, has the twins played by one actor, the impressive Armie Hammer (the great-grandson of famed industrialist Armand Hammer). No tricks are needed for Justin Timberlake to turn in a riveting performance as Sean Parker, the demented Napster pioneer who wormed his way into Zuckerberg’s good books.

      You won’t hear sharper dialogue all year, and this unforgettable script only gets stronger when you learn that the deposition scenes—with some of the smartest exchanges—are lifted from legal transcripts. In the end, the film isn’t about technology or business; it’s about who’s in, who’s out, and what people will do to change that, for more reasons than even they can understand.

      Comments

      1 Comments

      lori johal

      Jan 1, 2011 at 2:23am

      I have no idea why every one thinks this is a good movie??!! is it because its currnet .. because honeslty I have never been so bored ... sad if our critics think this is good