Despite the phenomenal popularity of Facebook and the millions of
users it garnered, becoming an actual member was not a priority. I had joined Twitter
beforehand, yet I was hesitant about the other because I really didn’t know very much
about it. It was the power of a movie trailer, not the movie itself, that finally convinced
me to sign on. Found out that my sister was on it too.
Myriads of Facebook members worldwide whose level of usage range
from absolute zero to marketing their products online for free (like some of our North
Carolina farmers),make the movie the social network quite appropriate for our time.
And David (Seven) Fincher sans writer Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men) take us on
an interesting and sometimes funny journey explaining how and why Facebook became
the online behemoth it is today.
Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and singer/actor Justin Timberlake play
our trio of geeks who engage us relentlessly in this adaptation of Ben Mezrich’s tome,
“The Accidental Billionaires.” The heart of the action is at prestigious Harvard Univer-
sity, noted for it’s law and medical schools and extremely intelligent students. Eisenberg
plays Mark Zuckerberg, our genius creator, Andrew Garfield (the next Spiderman) as
Eduardo Saverin, his best and probably only friend and Timberlake takes the role of
Napster inventor Sean Parker who is basically a wild card.
While Fincher does stick to conventional (linear) storytelling, he jumps back
and forth to scenes involving Mark Zuckerberg (Eisenberg) and two lawsuits he juggling.
Thankfully, the continuity is seamless, permitting you to witness some very interesting
personality transitions and the chaos which motivates them.
The Social Network opens in 2003 at a crowded student bar called The Thir-
sty Scholar just up the street from the Harvard campus. Mark and his soon-to-be ex-
girlfriend Erika Albright(Rooney Mara)are having a rapid fire conversation which at
times, is a bit hard to keep up with. Forgoing the details, an argument ensues, she breaks
up with him and our drunken protagonist rushes back to his dorm to commence a mini
campaign of bashing her on the internet.
He decides to up the ante by creating a site that compares female students
with their peers regarding looks. Courtesy of an algorithm from his friend Eduardo, the
the site gets so many hits, that the university servers can’t handle the traffic. Big trou-
ble for Zuckerberg; he gets put on academic probation.
Mark may be down, but not out. His notoriety wins the attention of a sec-
ond trio; the twins Tyler and Cameron Winkelvoss (both played by Armie Hammer) and
Divya Narenda who have an idea about a website of their own that will enable them to
score with girls. It’s here where the movie really begins as we see our genius creating and
launching Facebook right under their noses.
Jesse Eisenberg’s Mark Zuckerberg is the perfect serious version of the film,
“How to lose friends and alienate people.” A bitter irony since Facebook has made the
term “friend” globally significant. His one and only partner in crime Eduardo, turns on
him thanks basically to Mark’s becoming spellbound by the deviously ambitious Sean
Parker. He leaves no doubt in your mind that painful sacrifices must be made if you want
to remain on top, although you do see Mark exhibit some sympathy for his friend.
I’ ve spoken to potential watchers of this film who thought it would be bor-
ring. The Social Network may drag at times, but it’s intriguing enough to keep your at-
tention. If you’re already a Facebook member, you’ll definitely relate to it. If not you’ll
probably (like me) end up finally signing on.