By Pat Holohan, Staff Writer
“The Social Network” starts in a Boston bar with the future Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) drinking with his girlfriend, Erica Albright (Rooney Mara). The quick witted, fast dialogue is the sum of the strengths of writer Aaron Sorkin (“The West Wing,” “A Few Good Men”), who writes dialogue better than almost anyone, and a director with a great resume for drama, David Fincher (“Fight Club,” “Se7evn”).
Albright dumps Zuckerberg, not because he’s a nerd, she says, but because he’s an a–hole. As if to prove her right, Zuckerberg responds by creating Facemash.com, a website comparing Harvard University’s women in a “Who’s Hotter?” contest, and promptly crashes Harvard’s network.
Impressed that Zuckerberg was able to perform such a feat (and while drinking heavily!), the Winklevoss twins (Josh Pence and Armie Hammer), draft him into their idea for a social networking website.
The film intermittently flash-forwards to reveal Zuckerberg as a defendant in lawsuits against the Winklevosses for intellectual property theft, and against his former best friend and Facebook co-founder, Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), for cutting Saverin out of the company.
The film follows Zuckerberg as he loses friends and alienates anyone who tries to be nice to him, all while he insists that he doesn’t care about people or his reputation. He tells the Winklevoss’ lawyer during deposition that he thinks the lawyer deserves only “the minimal amount” of his attention, and mocks his ex-girlfriend’s bra size and family name, among other things.
Most of the film is set at a dark Harvard University, where it’s always either night or the characters are in a dimly lit room. As the film progresses and Facebook grows, Zuckerberg and company venture outside their California office, finally shedding some daylight on the movie.
Besides being the film’s focus, Zuckerberg also functions as its central contradiction. He says he doesn’t care about people or being known, but constantly seeks Parker’s approval and sometimes hints that he misses his ex-girlfriend, even if other characters don’t pick up on it.
The film’s biggest achievement might be integrating many lines of dialogue that revolve around writing computer code, or how to run a business, at one point with a serious conversation about how Saverin made money off of oil futures. To his credit, Fincher doesn’t seem to dumb down the computer speak, letting those who don’t understand hang for a minute as Zuckerberg and Saverin calculate algorithms before bringing them back with a snappy insult or a gag involving a cannibalistic chicken.
The acting is generally excellent, especially from Eisenberg, who has often portrayed the shy, sensitive teen (“Zombieland,” “Adventureland”) in contrast to the coldly manipulating Zuckerberg, and Garfield is great as Saverin, the anti-Zuckerberg.
The biggest surprise was being able to see Justin Timberlake play Napster founder, Sean Parker, without constantly thinking, “Hey, that’s Justin Timberlake.” Timberlake is so slick and sleazy he fits right into character as he corrupts Zuckerberg.
“The Social Network” is dramatic without taking itself too seriously, with great scripting, acting and directing. With all the hype that it has certainly lived up to, “The Social Network” is likely a contender for a best picture nominee this year.
Jessie Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake (Photo Courtesy of Sony Pictures)