Review

Review Date: 3-October-10
Spoiler Rating: Low
Juju Judgment: Juicy

The Social Network (2010)

A biographical movie about dot-com entrepreneurs not yet 30 years old at the time of its release is asking to have the word Zeitgeist thrown around, yet The Social Network, which fits this bill, is essentially timeless. Borrowing from recent events, it describes how ambition triggers people's worst impulses, imperils their friendships, and drives them to interact with snakes at the risk of becoming snakes themselves. The trappings of this tale may be modern, but the weakness behind it is not.

Appropriately, this version of the story teems with irony. It centers around Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), a Harvard University loser who gets dumped in the opening scene and goes on to create the global online mixer called Facebook (and become the subject of a major motion picture and the world's youngest billionaire). His transformation from obscure pariah to the famous pariah who brokers 21st-century social life is told in flashbacks during legal hearings. One hearing has been brought by three fellow students who suggested something like Facebook to Zuckerberg and seek restitution for his theft of the concept. (Max Minghella plays one of the plaintiffs and Armie Hammer the other two, who are twin Ivy League demigods.) A second hearing has been brought by Zuckerberg's former best friend (Andrew Garfield), who initially financed the site and represents bitter sacrifice on the altar of advancement.

Director David Fincher can be counted on to deliver polished work, so with a nod his way I call attention to the brightest star of the show, writer Aaron Sorkin. Sorkin's script, based on a book by yet another Harvardite, honors the intelligence of the characters and sets off the grim proceedings with bursts of comedy. From Zuckerberg's sullen geek-speak to the unctuous jargon of Napster founder Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake), who horns in on the new cash cow, the dialogue of The Social Network is sparkling and spot-on. I couldn't relate to these characters but I sure enjoyed listening to them. Awash in insecurity yet confident in the power of 1s and 0s to produce almighty $s, they prove with panache that basic vices never go out of style.

Copyright © 2010 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.