So, the social network is a movie by David Fincher who gave us Fight Club, Seven, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and the more recent The Girl with the dragon tattoo (Daniel Craig version).This movie is basically about a wannabe nerdy douchebag who wanted attention and fame, in the process of which he loses all his friends. Yeah, if sesame street tried to make the movie that would be the plot. It stars Jessie Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield (the new spiderman) and the himesh reshamiya of hollywood Justin Timberlake. I wonder how bad Zuckerberg blogged about the oscars after they got snubbed. I guess it would have gone something like this "Academy, I know you have done your homework so you know that money isn't a big part of my life but currently I'm in a place where I could buy out the King's speech therapist and his palace and turn the speech therapist's home into my ping pong room." Seems legit, right?
When?/How?
There was a lot of hype about this movie when it came out. The concencus of which was, it's a movie about facebook. I guess that had worked for its benefit in the long run as a movie about facebook will receive about as much attention as Aishwarya Bacchhan agreeing to strip. But, just like the latter, the news is false. The Social Network is very little about facebook, it wouldn't be entirely correct to classify it about Mark Zuckerberg either considering the historical inaccuracies and close observation suggests it's not a courtroom drama either. The Social Network, for me would fall somewhere between a movie about Zuckerberg and courtroom dramas. See it with that mindset and you'll enjoy it. If you see it as a movie about facebook, you'll be sorely disappointed with the ending as many King's Speech Fans are.
The Good
The social network would fall on my list of the top 10 feature films of the decade 2000-10. (I added feature so that the classics from Pixar could be disqualified. ) The reason being multi-dimensional. The first one I'll like to discuss is Direction. David Fincher has been known to be a director for thrillers and for him to direct a screenplay which, to a large extent was drama was a stroke of genius. The crib most people have with dramas is that they are slow paced and Fincher doesn't let that happen. Maybe he learned something after Curious Case of Bejamin Button's fall at the oscars. Something about the camera work in his movies is always just so engaging. Anyone who has seen Fight Club, Seven or The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo will know what I'm talking about here. The second dimension is the acting. A young cast with Jesse Eisenhower leading is superb in their own roles. Even our Himesh Reshamiya is not so bad, although that it could be said that he didn't have to do much, just be himself. But Jesse Eisenhower is essentially the big daddy here. He kills it with his cool, comfortable dialogue delivery almost all of which is written to perfection. Very tarantino-ish minus the funny factor if you ask me. The second best performer would be Andrew Garfield who was a lot better in this movie than in the new spiderman movie which was FUBAR for me. (Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition for those unfortunate souls who haven't seen Saving Private Ryan yet) The third dimension I'll be talking about is the music. This aspect of the movie really stood out here. Trent Reznor provides a different type of background for drama entirely and it works perfectly for the movie. If you haven't seen the trailer yet, go see it. There's a version of Creep by radiohead playing in the background that is just so damn haunting it will chill your bones. Creep-Scala.
One more thing I would like to discuss is the ending. Which has been a put off for many. The ending, for me was like alcohol. Yo hate it the first time you see it, the more you think about it, the more apt it seems. The movie ends with Mark Zuckerberg sending his ex a friend request. The scene was basically representative of how zuckerberg had given up on trying to be a douche. Thing is, you don't expect the movie to end at that note. That's why it's a put off for some and if you think of the movie with the perspective I just mentioned it fits in a lot better and is kind of perfect.
Another wierd effect it had on me at least is that I found typing a lot cooler after this. They had these old school keyboards in the movie which Seeing Zuckerberg take out a dozen networks to get profile pics of students was just too cool and I'd be lying if I said I didn't pay more attention in C++ classes after watching this movie.
The Bad
Engaging as it is, The Social Network is not without flaws. Most of which emerge when you come out of the theater. There are many historic flaws in the Social Network. Zuckerberg basically denied the whole thing, which was obvious from the word go. But the thing that did it for me was when I saw what Sean Parker looked like in real life.
Does this look anything like the guy who would pick up chicks in clubs and be like the ultimate party guy? They just got this character so wrong. It's like hiring Shah Rukh Khan to play The Joker. Some things just do not fit. Let's just put that aside and take this movie as it is and consider that the whole thing is factual, you'll enjoy it. There's nothing much wrong with the movie otherwise. One could say that characters come up with monologues out of thin air but then, you don't really mind that in the movie. It actually adds to the movie than taking away it's legitimacy level. Also, to all school guys out there, the freshers party scene in the social network is.. (sigh).. not even close to true in India. I wouldn't be lying if I said I had expected strip poker but, I was disappointed.
When Do I see it?
Social Network is an ideal movie for nerds. It's the ultimate "muggu revenge" saga. There is a scene in a movie when Zuckerberg just walks out of the class after the CS teacher asked him a question and tells him "Better men than you have tried and failed at this class." and he tells him the answer to his question coolly and walks out. Ultimate bitch please moment. I would love to do that one day. Although I think it would go like "42 is the answer." and the teacher goes "sorry, no.. " and then it would be like "Oh... really.. I'll just go back to my seat.. please continue..". So, with that image in mind, I would like to say that the Social Network is a fun movie and can be seen at almost any time and some of the best possible options would be if you've been thrown out of the class for indiscipline/ you friends ditched you for a movie/ dumped by a girl or some random depressing shit. This movie will lift your spirits and will give you hope that it doesn't matter what they did.. just do the following steps:
1. Come up with a good Idea
2. Ask your friends to join
3. Make it big
4. Screw you friends over
5. Get a gazillion dollars
See.. simple enough..
Final Verdict
The Social Network is a great movie, not entirely factual and badly advertized but still, if seen for what it is, a very enjoyable time. With some awesome acting and great direction, the social network is one of the best movies of the past decade. A must watch for today's nerds. Watch it for the dialogue, for the acting, the brilliant music and watch it to beleive that yes, nerdy coders can get laid. There is hope, my fellow brothers..!!
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