As previously noted here and elsewhere, I am a big ‘ole geek. A Facebook movie? WHERE do I get my tickets?
I am probably the most plugged in person I know, so the notion of a Facebook movie got me REALLY excited when it was announced. I mean, how awesome is that? After a bit of thought though, I began to wonder if Facebook really exciting enough to make a movie about. I knew about the lawsuits about it, but those were all settled with fairly little hoopla, so I figured the movie, unfortunately, would be a dud. Then, however, names came out of the people involved: David Fincher, Aaron Sorkin, Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake, Andrew Garfield… my excitement level was certainly piqued. The trailer came out, and suddenly it was official: THE SOCIAL NETWORK was my most anticipated movie of 2010.
My initial concern with the movie starting out was the overall lack of conflict. Sure, the movie centers on a pair of high-stakes lawsuits Facebook faced as it took off, but neither lawsuits are really the stuff courtroom drama is made of. That, however, is the beauty of this movie: the absolutely brilliant screenplay by Aaron Sorkin. Sorkin wove the past (2003-2004) and the “present” (2007) together beautifully, showing how “thefacebook” was born while simultaneously showing how it nearly died in court. Though any geek knows the basics of the Facebook story, Sorkin creates just the right amount of suspense needed to propel the film, building up to a quite appropriate conclusion.
The other strengths of the film are its leading performances. I’d seen Jesse Eisenberg in a few movies before this one where he suffers from what I call ‘Nathan Lane Syndrome’ - the uncanny ability to play the exact same role over and over again, yet somehow making it completely appropriate for the movie (Michael Cera also “suffers” from this, in my book). In THE SOCIAL NETWORK, however, Eisenberg is transformed; the elements that make Eisenberg a likable actor are still there, but he was not playing Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg. Wonderful performance. Justin Timberlake, too, was able to separate himself from his character, something I was not expecting. The real revelation, though, was Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin, a role that could easily be played as a whiny, spoiled rich kid who pouts. Garfield, however, takes over the film, making the story as much about Saverin as it was Zuckerberg & Facebook. Wonderful stuff.
As noted, THE SOCIAL NETWORK was my most anticipated movie of 2010. In a year filled with some big time films for geeks everywhere, this was a pretty big thing, in my mind. Having seen them all, I would say that not only did the film meet my expectations, it vastly exceeded them. As I write this review, THE SOCIAL NETWORK stands as one of my top two favorite films of 2010, likely with the inside track for the Best Picture crown.
