# Social Network Review



## KingdomBlade (Mar 9, 2011)

The Social Network is a near perfect film. Let me start off my saying that it deserves ALL of the praise that it is receiving and is the BEST film of 2011, no matter what the Academy says about it.

The plot is a look on the creation of Facebook. It constantly shuffles back and forth between court depositions of Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) and his flashbacks relating to the statements made on the court. It starts at a bar (whose name, that I remember for some unexplainable reason, is the “Thirsty Scholar”) where Mark delivers blazingly fast dialogue to his girlfriend, Erika, where several strange conversations eventually lead to Erika breaking up with Mark. This leads to Mark’s intoxication and him eventually creating “Facemash”, a girl-rating website. He then becomes infamous around the school and the administrative board, but rather, he uses this to his advantage, and, with a little bit of “help” from his friend, Eduardo (Andrew Garfield) the WINKELVI. (for the rest of this review, I will be referring to them as such)

What interested me about Mark’s character is his obvious lack of any social ability and grace. There is quite a bit of irony as the creator of the largest social networking site in the world is seen as socially incapable. Another interesting fact is that this lack of social ability is what led him to create Facebook in the first place. I’m referring to the fallout of his relationship to Erika. This is also what triggers important events in the plot. (him abandoning his friend out of jealousy)

What is most striking about this film is its remarkable scripting. The entire movie has thrice more dialogue than most films I’ve seen. It’s witty and funny, funnier than most people might give it credit for. There are quite a few memorable lines in the movie (the most memorable being “You know what’s cooler than a million dollars? A BILLION DOLLARS.” The movie is actually a lot funnier than some of the more recent comedy flicks. The film has seemingly boundless energy, constantly jumping in between conversations.

Speaking of jumping, the editing is remarkable also. It has something which a lot of films lack these days: STYLE. The editing is impeccably stylish and razor sharp, and creates smooth transitions between actual scenes and deposition scenes, they blend perfectly together and create harmony together with the script. It’s energetic, eclectic. It’s a perfect example of modern editing.

The music is composed by Nine Inch Nails member Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross who composed the score of Book of Eli. I laughed browsing through Youtube when Inception fanboys were outraged over The Social Network winning Best Original Score. What they failed to grasp is the fact that the score is judged, not by the composition itself, but by the production of the composition. They are supposed to make music that fits perfectly to the film, and Social Network’s was not memorable, or the best composition, it was certainly the most atmospheric, fitting. It made the most sense. It told a story. You could feel the story dripping out of the notes, the lonely mind of a creator, the genius idea that he thought of, the downfall of his social relationships.

The plot’s perhaps most interesting (and funniest) character is Sean Parker, who founded Napster. Justin Timberlake gives a surprisingly great performance here (I’m surprised he could even act) as a womanizing failure. Herein, he tried to get Mark to join his odd lifestyle, but we see that Mark does not succumb to this lifestyle. I actually suspect that Mark may have simply used Sean as near the end, Sean is arrested and Mark was supposedly the one to turn him in.

Eduardo is Mark’s only friend. Interestingly enough, this does not stop Mark from sabotaging him (further proving his complete lack of social ability or value). Mark screws him out of the company. We know this as soon as he tells Eduardo his idea, as he is glaringly jealous that Eduardo managed to get into Harvard’s prestigious Phoenix Club, which Mark would also like to join to. Mark tricks Eduardo into losing his share of the company and removing him from Facebook completely.

The WINKELVI are Cameron and Tyler. Presumably, Mark stole the idea of Facebook from a previous idea the WINKELVI discussed with them called “Harvard Connection”, which is actually a little boring. The WINKELVI try to sue him. I doesn’t really matter if he actually stole it, what matters is his response to it. He could have stolen it, he never once said “I didn’t steal it.”, he just said “I’m sick of people lying.” I believe that in fact, he ‘derived’ his idea from Harvard Connection, and his demeanor and habit of screwing people over doesn’t make it any better.

The movie is fantastic, not only because of it’s impeccable script, but also because of it’s amazing insight of the most popular social tool in the world. The story is impeccable, but a little hard to follow at times, due to it’s immense amount of dialogue. But it’s a lot clearer than Inception, that’s for sure. In the end, I feel that this is one of the most important films of the previous decade, due to it’s explanation of the turning point of this generation and how it contrasts that with the creative minds behind it.

I RATE IT AS 5. ONE OF THE FINEST FILM MAKING HAD TO OFFER IN THE YEAR 2010.

http://removiews.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/...social-network/ - Also on my blog.


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## Hells Malice (Mar 9, 2011)

I'm surprised people actually liked the movie, woah.


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## Guild McCommunist (Mar 9, 2011)

It was a great movie. My friends are like "How can it be good it's about college kids making Facebook". Fact is that it's a good tale of liars and cheaters, backstabbing, betrayal, and how a single idea can become one of the most popular things in the history of mankind.

Most of the characters are painted to have mixed sympathy. On one hand you like Zuckerburg for his talent and his initiative to make the site not for profit but because he can. On the other hand you hate him because he is a complete douche, stole the idea from other people, and pretty much eliminated Facebooks other two head honchos in the process (one was backstabbed, the other was disowned for his wild party antics).

The soundtrack was also great. Probably beats Tron Legacy's soundtrack as best of the year.

But overall it's a nice, modern film on all the shit that happens when one small idea becomes the idea of the century along with a good cast of characters and a kick ass soundtrack. Definitely worth a watch.


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## ShadowSoldier (Mar 9, 2011)

KingdomBlade said:
			
		

> The Social Network is a near perfect film. Let me start off my saying that it deserves ALL of the praise that it is receiving and is the BEST film of 2011, no matter what the Academy says about it.


 You mean 2010. But debate on whether it's the best film of 2010 is hard to decide as t


You should also note that the film isn't 100% accurate and doesn't try to be. The writers and creators have said themselves, that it's basically it's own story.


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## KingdomBlade (Mar 9, 2011)

ShadowSoldier said:
			
		

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Oops, typo. I guess. I do believe it is. It's fantastic, socially and culturally relevant, refreshingly modern, impeccably scripted, well edited, uniquely scored, and shows it's characters in an unusually unsympathetic light. It works perfectly. It's not my favorite, but it's the BEST. (there's a difference, my favorite is Toy Story 3, but the BEST is the Social Network.

I do agree that it is not all that true, but factually, it's accurate. He did go to California, he did get sued, he did go to Harvard and make Facemash. The characters and dialogue are all dramatisized however, and Erica Albright is a fictional character that is a mechanism for creating this mixed reaction to the character right from the very beginning.


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## Vigilante (Mar 9, 2011)

Could have added picture but still a great review.


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## alphenor (Mar 24, 2011)

KingdomBlade said:
			
		

> I do agree that it is not all that true, but factually, it's accurate. He did go to California, he did get sued, he did go to Harvard and make Facemash. The characters and dialogue are all dramatisized however, and *Erica Albright is a fictional character* that is a mechanism for creating this mixed reaction to the character right from the very beginning.



so that means he didn't really wrote that blog post about Erica?


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## KingdomBlade (Mar 24, 2011)

alphenor said:
			
		

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He wrote something around those lines to a different girl. (or at least that's what I'm aware of)


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## mysticwaterfall (Mar 24, 2011)

alphenor said:
			
		

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As far as I understand it, the scene in the movie is the actual thing he posted, but it's unknown as to whom he was actually referring to. In reality, he's actually been dating Pricella Chan for about 7 years now, so he's certainly not pining away for any lost love like he is for Erica at the end of the movie. In fact, the general consensus is that he's nothing like he's portrayed in the movie. The basic outline is true, the rest is fudged. Read http://www.businessinsider.com/is-the-soci...k-true-2010-10# and http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-mo...erberg-ims?op=1 for some of the falsehoods, if your curious.

That being said, it is a great movie for what it is. The fictional Mark Zuckerberg is a wonderful character and really sells it, and the way the drama plays out throughout the movie is fantastic.


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## alphenor (Mar 25, 2011)

mysticwaterfall said:
			
		

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now that I've read it, I feel like I want to punch the movie director.


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## KingdomBlade (Mar 25, 2011)

alphenor said:
			
		

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Supposedly, David Fincher is sort of an ass. But the guy's a fucking genius. He's made all good films (with the exception of his first film, Alien 3 which was destroyed by the studio responsible). Can't wait to see Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.


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## Ringo619 (Mar 25, 2011)

its a decent movie , still alot better than i expected  it to be


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## Vidboy10 (Mar 26, 2011)

Ahem...
Spoiler tag?

Also, FORMER Nine Inch Nails member?
Get the fuck out.


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## KingdomBlade (Mar 26, 2011)

Vidboy10 said:
			
		

> Ahem...
> Spoiler tag?
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> Also, FORMER Nine Inch Nails member?
> Get the fuck out.



My bad about the nine inch nails thing. I wrote this a long time ago and lacked time to proofread it.

And I don't really think people put spoiler tags in reviews. Why then, does no one put spoiler tags on their game reviews?


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