You Are Not Alone: The Social Network Review

We are a connected, attention-starved society, and David Fincher’s The Social Network understands its audience very well. The Social Network is essentially a film about dispositions prior to two key civil lawsuits during the past six years of Facebook’s history - including every dry and boring detail that come with civil law matters. What is not boring is the film itself: a fast-paced blend of drama, arguments, sex, drugs, and hacker culture; overall, a perfect symbol for the modern youth generation. This is a film not about the founding of this century’s biggest and most important company, but about the people watching it and powering the machine it strives to describe.

The Social Network is a fascinating reflection of our nation’s desire to starve off loneliness, to be part of something bigger without risking our own image. The film opens as Mark Zuckerberg’s public image goes down the toilet at Harvard after an unfortunate breakup results in his creating FaceMash.com, an immediate predecessor to Facebook.com. After losing the respect of women on campus but gaining the attention of Harvard’s elite final clubs, Zuckerberg immediately begins development on TheFacebook.com in an attempt to put his ideal college experience online and begins a quest to restore his public image.

While not everyone will find the subject of the film interesting, rest assured that The Social Network is the best two hours that anyone will spend in theaters in 2010. The film is well written; dialogue spatters from one line to the next without being dumbed down to give the audience a break. The film is fast; half a dozen years pass in two hours’ time, and every scene explodes with drama, dialogue, music, and most importantly, purpose. This is a film with great storytelling and professional talent behind it: actions have consequences and characters make mistakes and learn from them. Not only does an all-star cast give incredible performances on-screen (headlined by Jesse Eisenberg), but an all-star director and executive team really shine behind the camera with fantastic direction, music, and editing.

I went into The Social Network expecting two hours of dramatic dialogue and endless faked computer screens, but I ended up sitting through the best non-action action movie of the year. The Social Network is smart, fast, fun, and most importantly, a story of drama, deceit, longing, and love so well told it will be the benchmark for years to come.

B3 out.