Isaacson: The Social Network review

The Social Network is a film, directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin, that portrays a fictional version of the events surrounding the creation of the social networking website Facebook. The film focuses on the sites founder, Mark Zuckerberg, and his relationship with co-founder Eduardo Saverin, fellow Harvard students Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and founder of Napster Sean Parker.
The first thing that the film does well is the foreshadowing provided by the way the film is presented chronologically. While it starts in 2003, throughout the film it also skips forward to years later when Saverin and the Winkolvoss twins are both suing Zuckerberg for infringement on intellectual property rights. This shift forward to past Zuckerberg's falling out with both of these parties establishes a sense of foreboding throughout the film; you know that these relationships are doomed even during the happiest times.
Another aspect of the film that aids this feeling of foreboding is the sound track, performed by the frontmen, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, from industrial rock groups Nine Inch Nails and Bauhaus. Even though there is very little violence the soundtrack builds like a horror film and it are words that serve as the murder weapons when Zuckerberg reveals his true intentions and places the metaphorical knives squarely in other characters backs.
Ultimately, The Social Network succeeds in being a masterful drama by making words performative; they serve as signifiers of mental action, which is the battlefield when discussing Intellectual Property. Any film that is directed well enough to make the words of the characters so important that it makes litigation interesting is one worth of praise, and this film does exactly that.

Malveaux - Social Network Review

Aaron Sorkin's The Social Network was an interesting film, to say the least. When first viewing the trailer for the film, I was very skeptical. I saw a movie primarily telling the story of how Facebook, a social website where people created profiles for themselves, had been created. My immediate reaction was how would a film about social media be even remotely interesting, let alone good. As the film showed in theaters, many critics gave the film very positive reviews saying that the direction in which David Fincher took, the script, and performances of both Justin Timberlake and Jesse Eisenburg were exceptional. After watching The Social Network, I would agree. Although the film tells the story of how Facebook came to be, the film explores much more than that. It can be argued that the movie isn't so much about the social website itself, rather the primary focus is the conflicts and relationships between Zuckerberg, his best friend Eduardo, Sean Parker, and the Winklevoss twins who are suing him. Facebook is simply the vehicle by which Sorkin and Fincher drive the story. Through these relationships, the film is able to show how important these interactions are to understanding the development of Facebook.

There are plenty of areas where the film excels. Some of those include the intelligent, yet witty dialogue between the characters, the superb casting of Eisenburg, Timberlake, and Andrew Garfield, and the development of the story. One aspect of the film that in my opinion is the most exceptional is the directing job done by Fincher. All throughout the film, the story is told in flashbacks from Facebook's inception all the way to its progression as a fully functioning website and both separate lawsuits that followed. Fincher showed the scenes from the lawsuits, the present situation, while flashing back to all the moments that caused the two lawsuits against Zuckerberg. This is where the movie shined because it kept the movie entertaining and fresh while telling the story in its entirety. Overall, whether you have a Facebook page or not or have any interest in the story behind the website itself, this is a must-see for viewers in 2010. The exceptional directing and acting alone is enough reason to see this movie; the story behind a website that you probably use to socialize with friends is just the icing on the cake.

Hutchinson - The Social Network

The Social Network: such a simple, yet brilliant, concept for a movie. Facebook: the website that has become as vital as oxygen to millions worldwide. The makers of The Social Network have used their common sense to make a movie that will attract millions of people to the box office; they have made a movie about the creation of the phenomenon that has become part of our everyday routines. That being said, I found Social Network to be a great movie. It was refreshing to see Jesse Eisenberg play a complete asshole, instead of the fun, loveable dork. It was even more refreshing, not to mention downright pleasing, to see him play his part so convincingly. There were times when his delivery of lines were just so perfect, so on point, that I wanted to delete my facebook account from my phone, because I believed Mark Zuckerburg to be such a pompous prick. Whether that portrayal of his character is completely factual or not is irrelevant to me; Eisenberg’s performance simply shined through the dull, dark lighting of the film. That being said, the rest of the cast – while not completely up to Eisenberg’s performance in my opinion – was still superb. The movie itself was a combination of brilliant acting, directing, cinematography, and even wardrobe. I was afraid for a while that it would look just like a movie made about the early 2000’s in the late 2000’s. I was glad to be proven wrong. It was somewhat nostalgic to see the years of my youth come alive on the big screen. The sequencing of shots was an “A+” decision as well. They take you to the past, and the present, and then the past again, but even further back this time, but then to the past, just a little later. It wasn’t in chronological order, which I believe made it that much better. It was a risky move to take, with so many people being confused by movies that don’t follow a chronological linear patter, but it worked. It made the movie. Was the film completely accurate? I’m not sure, but most movies are biased anyway. Its accuracy was not the deciding factor; how the movie was done was the deciding factor, and the movie was done very well. There was no “over the top” Hollywood feel to it. It was simple, yet not. I’d suggest to all that it is worth seeing at least once.

Becnel Social Network

The film Social Network had many features that I thought were noteworthy. First, the film had an instant "intrigue factor" because it is a bio-pic that involves something that most people use every day, facebook. The story of how facebook emerged is very interesting, and the film put us right into the middle of the story. It is controversial, which adds to the allure and hype of the film.
The Winklevoss twins are happy with their portrayal in the film. They believe that they were cast in the right light, and that the film was true to the original story.



Mark Zuckerberg, on the other hand, claims that the portrayal of his relationship with his girlfriend (later ex-girlfriend) in the film is far from the truth. In an interview, he has been quoted saying, "...The thing that I think is actually most thematically interesting that they got wrong is -the whole framing of the movie, kind of the way that it starts is, I'm with this girl who doesn't exist in real life, who dumps me, which has happened to me in real life, alot- and basically to frame it as if the whole reason for making Facebook and building something was because I wanted to get girls or wanted to get into some sort of social institution. And the reality for people who know me is that I've actually been dating the same girl since before I started Facebook, so obviously that's not a part of it." (slashfilm)
Second, the script was well written. It was sarcastic and darkly humorous in some scenes (Eduardo and the chicken) and intensely passionate (the depositions and the break-ups of the relationships)in others. Third, the soundtrack fit well with the movie. The songs that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross chose conveyed the feel and mood of the scenes well. Fourth, the movie was well casted. The actors are believable as the characters they are depicting, most notably Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg and Armie Hammer as the Winklevoss twins.













The film is getting recognition from the critics. The film currently has a 4 star and 2 "thumbs-up" rating from Roger Ebert. I would agree with his grade of the film. In my opinion, Social Network is a full 4 stars, but not 5.

Knoepfler, Social Network

I remember seeing the first preview for The Social Network a few months back. At first, I thought the movie was a joke. There was just no way that a movie about Facebook could be as good as it turned out to be, yet alone serious at all. Facebook just seemed like a part of everyday life permanently weaved into our lives. It’s not a story, it’s not a tool, it’s not a marketing Godsend, or anything. Its just Facebook. It was hard for me to take it seriously.

That being said, I went into the movie with a generally negative outlook. I didn’t think an interesting movie could be written about the founding of Facebook. What I didn’t know, however, was that the founding of Facebook was surrounded by betrayal and even treachery. The story was surprisingly awesome, and it was told very well. The method of flashback story telling accurately portrayed the loss of friendship between Zuckerberg and Saverin.

The acting in the movie was also phenomenal. I’m starting to respect Justin Timberlake a lot more than I used to. D*ck in a box bumped him down a lot in my approval ratings, but his extremely accurate portrayal of a sleazy entrepreneur in this movie. The acting in this film made it feel very realistic.

Villacreces: Social Network

The movie Social Network by the director David Fincher portrays the story behind the website that is part of almost everyone's life, Facebook. The story is presented in a different and creative way. The movie is basically how facebook started since Mark Zuckerberg and his roommates stated the site in the Harvard dorms, to the huge lawsuits the company goes through. How Fincher presents this story is the following. As the testimonies of how the idea of the facebook started to its developments, there is a flashback showing exactly what happened. The whole movie goes back and forth between testimonies and the past. This is interesting for the audience because it presents the different perspectives between the characters like the Winklevoss twins and Eduardo.

What is interesting about the narration and the perspective of the movie is that it doesn't presents Mark Zuckerberg's perspective or why he chooses to do what he does through out the movie. We just see the decisions he makes and how it affects the secondary characters and their feelings. We see what the Winklevoss' do, and what they feel and what they want to proof. We also see what Eduardo feels for being exiled format he company and just seen as a source of money for the company.

Another interesting feature of the film is the change in atmospheres and lighting through out the movie. The film starts in Harvard University. The lighting is gloomy and it seems you are in a place full of history and it takes place around the 1960's or 1950's. The reason why the setting looks like this is to present that Harvard is a place of history, learning and no party scene. This image of Harvard contrasts with California, Stanford, New York and the Facebook office. These other places have a more bright setting, people are having fun and living their own lives. The change in the atmosphere and lighting are clear and show a turning point in the movie.

Social Network is a good movie that presents the story of what happened in Facebook history. It presents an insight of the conflict that almost no one knows, and people now know what is behind the website that almost everyone is addicted to.