The Social Network (film)

The first thing I must mention is that I am not on Facebook and have never been on Facebook, so any profile you find bearing my name is not me. (My name does, however, appear as a group you can join, an in-joke by my friends).

The second thing I will mention is that I think 'The Social Network' is a stupid name for a film. I'd be quite tempted to call it 'Hackface' or 'About Face' or even just 'The Network' instead. These aren't very good names for films either but they are better than 'The Social Network'.

Given these aspects, why did I want to see a film ostensibly about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg? Well, because despite escaping the Facebook trap, I do recognise how it has changed the way people network online and I wanted to know Hollywood's take on what Zuckerberg was like, ie how they would present the character of Zuckerberg as a plausible programmer, one creative and talented enough to start a website that has become so crucial to social networking.

I took director David Fincher's film as *very* loosely based on the creation of Facebook. For all intents and purposes, the most dramatic parts of the film I assumed were exaggerated or fiction. Had this film been a biopic, it would've been boring as batshit. After all, who wants to watch the Zuckerberg character grow pasty in a back room after sitting at a computer all summer? Thankfully, Fincher treads the fine line between improbability and plausibility with some confidence, and Alan Sorkin's snappy dialogue takes the film to another level beyond the biopic and beyond most other films about computer nerds.

This is not a memoirish look at Zuckerberg. In fact, I was impressed that it had a surprisingly firm beginning, middle and end. This is about how Facebook could have plausibly sprung from the brain and fingertips of someone like Zuckerberg, an attempt, if you will, to put its birth into some form of context. For Fincher, it centres on Zuckerberg's breakup with a girl called Erica, who Zuckerberg is never quite over despite defaming her over the internet post-breakup, and his desire to be invited to a final club (I had to look up what a final club was - they are not usual for Australian universities as far as I can tell). This, I thought, was a bit extreme. They may have been contributing motivations, but not the main driver.

As a film it fares well on the back of some apt casting and solid performances. Jesse Eisenberg's Zuckerberg is believable in his arrogance, indifference, creativity and vulnerability - a difficult mix for much more experienced actors and one combined eerily well in him. The support cast is also exceptional, from the 'Harvard gentlemen athletes' of the Winklevoss twins (who successfully sued Zuckerberg for $65 million for stealing their idea to create a Harvard network) to Justin Timberlake as Napster's Sean Parker (he did such a good job I didn't recognise him).

Also in its favour is the eschewing of realistic, pedestrian conversation for zippy dialogue containing memorable repartee and some gems of one-liners. The scene where Zuckerberg runs a hacking competition for Facebook intern applicants is priceless.

All up, the film's disadvantages, such as the legal stuff, were well traversed, interspliced with the meat of the story, the 'flashbacks'. Fincher has done well to make all these parts a watchable whole, fascinating and plausible without being burdened by truth or reality.

Flim rating: 9/10
Enjoyment rating: 8/10