A hallmark of a good movie is that feeling of wanting to go home and googling everything you can about it because it was that riveting that you want to learn more stuff about it. The Social Network is definitely one of those films. Before we get into some informative articles for you to read, though, humor me for a quick review on the movie.
I went into the movie expecting it to be a dramatized film with a loose basis on actual events. In other words, I expected to see more untruths than truths. You know what? I’m glad I wasn’t an expert historian on Facebook or Mark Zuckerberg because I might have had fits trying to figure out what was true and what wasn’t. Don’t go in trying to be that guy. Aaron Sorkin’s script flows naturally and is entirely believable within the context of the film.
Sorkin does a great job of making the viewer feel smart and involved with the events leading up to the creation of Facebook. You could know nothing about technology and still feel like you have an insider’s view in Silicon Valley. I’m no accomplished server administrator or web developer, but even I know what Emacs or Apache servers are used for. You won’t see any techno-babble in this film that’s on the level of 24‘s “Chloe! Open up a socket!”
As for the directing and acting? Well, I’m pretty sure David Fincher has reached Christopher Nolan status for me in that I will see any of his films no questions asked. Did you remember that the dude directed not only Fight Club and Se7en, but also The Game, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Zodiac? Not a stinker among them. Jesse Eisenberg establishes that he possesses far more acting range than Michael Cera. Justin Timberlake did his job in his portrayal of a fairly one-dimesional Sean Parker. Andrew Garfield did his part in incepting us with feelings of sympathy for his role as betrayed partner, Eduardo Saverin. I imagine we won’t have trouble getting along with his Peter Parker role in the upcoming Spider-Man franchise reboot.
I’m sure many of you have seen The Social Network by now, but if you haven’t, I heartily recommend you do so. It’s a great film, fun yet intellectually engaging as well. Your post-movie dinner conversation will be fun, I guarantee it.
Now, let’s say you’ve just seen the movie and you want to know more about everything that went down. Here’s some extracurricular reading material to satisfy your cravings:
- The New Yorker’s profile on Mark Zuckerberg. It may have been done with the intention of “deflecting the negative portrayal” of the movie, but honestly I saw a lot of parallels. He’s clearly a hard worker, though.
- Vanity Fair’s Sean Parker profile. This is a must read piece on one of Silicon Valley’s brightest people. If it’s one thing the film disappointed on, it’s the one dimensional portrayal of Sean Parker as a greedy, manipulative party animal. He’s so much more.
- Nathan Heller’s defense of Harvard for Slate Magazine. Personally, I’m a little annoyed by his hoity-toity writing style, but the film does dramatize the Ivy League experience heavily.
- Wired Magazine has some nice material on how the movie came to be. If you didn’t know, Aaron Sorkin’s screenplay was based on Ben Mezrich’s novel The Accidental Billionaires.
- Trent Reznor’s interview with KCRW’s Jason Bentley. One of the best parts of the movie is Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s soundtrack. It’s got that sense of technological unease that fits the film to a T.
- Slashfilm’s film FAQ. Some questions you may have for the film after watching it are answered here. Plus, a picture of Mark Zuckerberg’s real life girlfriend!
- *Update* Aaron Sorkin responds to concerns over his portrayal of women in the movie. I buy it. No need to blow the misogyny out of proportion.