Director: David Fincher
Writers: Aaron Sorkin (screenplay), Ben Mezrich (novel)
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Armie Hammer, Rooney Mara
I'm conflicted when it comes to
The Social Network. It's good in practically every aspect of film making. The acting was great, the music was nice, and the story was interesting. Then why did this film irritate me so much? It irritated me to the point where I couldn't enjoy the film.
Jessie Eisenberg was incredible as the founder of Facebook
Mark Zuckerberg, yet at the same time was the least enjoyable part of the movie for me.
The whole film is basically about the creation of Facebook from start to finish. It showcases the lawsuits against
Mark Zuckerberg, who stood on many toes to make Facebook a successful website. This film is just as much about
Zuckerberg's best friend
Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), who was both a cofounder and business partner from the beginning. I feel like the start of the film is all about
Zuckerberg, then it becomes about
Saverin, then back to
Zuckerberg. This worked really well, because
Garfield's character was just as interesting and complex as
Eisenberg's.
There was no clear star of the film for me. I feel that both
Eisenberg and
Garfield were brilliant in their performances. One thing that didn't quite get through to me was the inner conflict that
Zuckerberg must have been feeling when he betrayed his friend. There were a couple of scenes where you could see
Zuckerberg thinking about his actions, but I couldn't sense if there was any regret or sadness there. As good as
Eisenberg was, I am confused as to whether his character was sincerely sorry for his actions.
Justin Timberlake did a great job in his role as
Sean Parker, a
party-boy and
founder of two successful websites. His character was clearly supposed to be irritating, which he achieved splendidly. Another great performance was from
Armie Hammer, who played both
Cameron and
Tyler Winklevoss. For me, these two characters were one of the most entertaining parts of the film. I could feel their frustration. I actually wished that they would win their lawsuit against
Zuckerberg.
The main problem I have with the film is that I got pretty bored by the end, and that's got to count for something. I admire the fact that they didn't portray
Zuckerberg as an angel, however, it didn't make me care much for him either. I can't deny that this is a good film, but I think it's far from perfect and very overrated.
