897. The Social Network (2010)

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake

Director: David Fincher

Running Time: 120 mins

The Social Network is an American film based on the true story of Mark Zuckerberg, who started a social media revolution from his university dorm to create the worldwide sensation that was to become Facebook, however he had to fight through accusations and lawsuits against one of his co-founders and the people who gave him the idea in the first place.

This is a well-acted, well-directed and very engrossing tale of one of the most important inventions of the 21st Century. David Fincher lends his own eerie atmosphere to the story to make it really stand out amongst the crowd of normal biographies, whilst Jesse Eisenberg puts in a sterling turn as Zuckerberg, and that, as well as a fast-paced screenplay, all comes together to make for a thoroughly intriguing film.

 Now, this isn’t the sort of story, the founding of an internet company, that you’d think would make for much excitement, but the fantastic writing here really helps that and makes it almost a thriller over just a biography. The main thing that makes it so exciting is that it’s really fast-paced, not only does the story move along very swiftly, but the characters themselves also talk at a million miles an hour, which although a bit strange at first, becomes really effective in making the situation all the more high-stakes and exciting to watch.

What also adds to the excitement is David Fincher’s typically infallible direction. This is a little bit different to the established Fincher-type movies (i.e. Fight Club, Se7en and Gone Girl), but it still has some brilliantly melancholy tones to it, whilst also using its darkness to advance the more thrilling and high-stakes aspects of the story.

Along with that, there are some fantastic performances here. Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake and many others are brilliant in the supporting roles, and without their involvement, this story would not be so interesting or exciting, however Jesse Eisenberg is absolutely brilliant as Mark Zuckerberg, putting in a performance that really shows how much of an idiot the man could be, yet being human enough to allow you to sympathise with him and definitely support him throughout the story, despite all of his many wrongdoings.

In terms of negatives, there are a few. Firstly, the structure of the story didn’t work out so well, as it switches back and forth between the events of the past and the present, and although many people may know the outcome of the story, seeing as it’s such a modern history, it did ruin one of the more exciting parts of the plot somewhat.

And you do become accustomed to that as the film goes on, and it actually becomes at times even more interesting to watch than the history. However, this is where the second problem lies. The end of this film was too rushed. At one point, they’re halfway through doing something, and then it ends very abruptly with a “they went on to…” end titles, which was quite annoying, as the modern story was becoming so interesting that it actually would have been better for it to go on and explain more about the outcomes of the whole affair.

Overall, this gets a 7.9, because of its fantastic screenplay, direction and performances, although the structure was initially frustrating as was the abrupt ending.