The Social Network, the much-awaited Columbia Pictures portrayal of Facebook’s inception, delivers on all fronts. As a top-notch drama with multi-dimensional characters and a captivating script, it intelligently adapts a fascinating true story to the screen.
Awkward, arrogant computer genius and Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) is dumped by his girlfriend (Rooney Mara) in the opening credits. He goes on to hack the Harvard network in order to obtain pictures of female Harvard students so that their peers can rate the attractiveness of the women on a site called FaceMash. Zuckerberg is assisted by his best friend Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield).
The film’s opening assures us that The Social Network will not limit itself to biography. The suspenseful camera angles and lighting, as well as the bite of the dialogue, are more characteristic of drama than of documentary. The film will be as much about broken friendships, betrayal and obsession as about the establishment of a company.
Zuckerberg, impetuous and uninhibited, does not allow Saverin’s conscience to get in his way. Eisenberg’s nerdy tone and tacit expressions of envy make his role as Zuckerberg highly believable. Garfield’s performance as Saverin is also notable for its authenticity: he makes his character’s conscientiousness as genuine as Zuckerberg’s reprobation.
Rich, preppy rowing champions, identical twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss (both played by Arnie Hammer), impressed by Zuckerberg’s FaceMash stunt, ask him to help them create a Harvard social networking website. Zuckerberg agrees but is inspired by the twins’ idea to create a new social networking site called TheFacebook.
Once Zuckerberg and Saverin create TheFacebook, Zuckerberg is propelled to celebrity on the Harvard campus but incurs the ire of the Winklevoss twins (or, as Zuckerberg once referred to them, “the Winklevi”), who believe that Zuckerberg has stolen their idea. Ultimately, the twins resort to a multimillion dollar litigation to receive compensation for what they believe is their idea. Riveting depositions in the lawsuit are interspersed throughout the film’s narrative. It’s hard to feel sorry for the twins, who, as Zuckerburg points out, have never faced adversity in their lives. Hammer’s ease and charisma successfully convey the twins’ elitist attitudes.
The film’s portrayal of the twins’ interaction with Zuckerberg does not make Zuckerberg seem likeable, but it also does not amount to a condemnation of his intellectual integrity. This delicate ambiguity provides viewers with plenty to debate and discuss as they drive home from the theater.
Equally gripping is the disintegration of Zuckerberg’s friendship with Saverin. Zuckerberg grows dismissive of him, as Zuckerberg’s conception of Facebook begins to diverge from Saverin’s. Zuckerberg (with friend and Napster co-founder Sean Parker) tricks Saverin into signing away his rights to company shares. Saverin, like the Winklevoss twins, sues Zuckerberg. Emotionally charged portions of his deposition are shown throughout the film. The juxtaposition of testimony and narrative highlights the severance of their friendship, a casualty of Zuckerberg’s enterprise.
The Social Network takes an old story — the sacrifice of friendship for ambition — and makes it new. This enduring theme resonates against the modern backdrop of technological innovation.
The Social Network is a punchy and engaging examination of Facebook’s origins that succeeds intellectually, morally and viscerally. It should be of special interest to residents of Silicon Valley, Facebook’s home, and Paly students, who make Facebook a part of their everyday lives. “Like” it on your Facebook page.