Last Tuesday, I had the good fortune to be invited to the premiere screening of The Social Network hosted by m:idea at Filmgarde (the new cinema theatre in town). Of course I was excited. Who wouldn't be?
After all, The Social Network had been critically acclaimed to be one of the best films this year, and Jesse Einsenberg (from Zombieland), who plays the role of socially awkward-genius nerd inventor Mark Zuckerberg, looks set to be in the running for an Oscar next year. Roger Ebert gave it two thumbs up. Ong Sor Fen (Life! reviewer) gave it four out of five stars. Countless just as well known movie reviewers give a similar rating ranging from four to five out of five stars. I give it a cannot-be-rated-cause-its-too-awesome rating ('cause I'm cool like that. HAHAHA.).
A biopic narrating the life of Zuckerberg from his university years, and the birth and growth of Facebook, it is interspersed with scenes of our Facebook founder defending himself against two lawsuits (yes, at the same time!) by Greek god-like blondes Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (played by Armie Hammer), and Eduardo Saverin (played by Andrew Garfield - watch out for him in Spiderman 2012), his one-time former best friend.
Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) with his then-girlfriend Erica Albright (Rooney Mara) in a bar
Adapted from the book "Accidental Billionaires" by Ben Mezrich, the movie begins with a verbal sparring between Zuckerberg and his then-girlfriend, Erica Albright (played by Rooney Mara). Their conversation about SAT scores and Havard's exclusive clubs volley back and forth between the duo, fast and hard, before Erica finally gets fed up, calls him an asshole, and leaves for good.
Bitter and drunk, he goes back home and rants about her on his blog, while at the same time creating a sexist website comparing the hotness of the campus girls, and ends up crashing the campus servers. His ingenuity despite being intoxicated catches the attention of the Winklevoss twins, or "Winklevi", as christened by Zuckerberg.
The Winklevoss twins, Cameron and Tyler, with Divya Narendra
They commission him to create an exclusive dating site for Harvard men, banking on the exclusivity and attractiveness of the school's server address as a lure. However, he keeps them at bay, and inspired by "The Harvard Connection", builds a social networking site with funding from his loyal college buddy. (PS: On a side note, did you know that Eduardo Saverin has been living in S'pore for the past one and a half years?)
The story of how their partnerships degenerated could have easily turned into pass-the-buck session of a “he said, he said”, but as Ong Sor Fen pointed out, scriptwriter Aaron Sorkin cleverly uses the legal depositions for the two lawsuits as a structuring device in narrating the different point of views from each party.
Eduardo Saverin with Mark Zuckerberg in a scene
It is quite a tragedy to watch, for you cannot help but feel sympathy for the best friends who were separated by the nuclear growth of an idea that only comes round once in every generation, and legendary Napster and Plaxo founder, Sean Parker (played by Justin Timberlake).
Zuckerberg is mentored by Parker, a kindred spirit who not only understands his thought process in the creation of Facebook, but an experienced man who has the contacts and the know-how to make it succeed. He advised Zuckerberg to move to California, and approached Silicon Valley investors whom he knew would be interested in start-up ventures, instead of approaching ham-fisted New York financiers to be shareholders like Saverin had done, and failed miserably in.
Throughout the film we can see Zuckerberg’s dedication and passion in his work. He eschews wild parties organised by Parker, so engrossed in his work he is that he even checks up on Facebook during the lunch breaks in between his lawsuits. Eisenberg pulls off the tetchiness of a high IQ-low EQ intellectual who is unable to comprehend social needs, yet aspires to be part of the upper echelons that most of “commoners” could never reach.
Zuckerberg with Sean Parker, played by Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake makes Parker an extremely dislikable character – the man changed the fine print on the legal documents that Saverin signed foolishly, and was constantly hostile to him despite the latter having done nothing towards him. However, his contribution to Facebook and his mentoring of Zuckerberg is undeniable, so you can’t really dislike him that much. Without him, Facebook might not have become what it is today.
And of course, you can’t forget Eduardo Saverin. Garfield plays him well as a rather pitiable character who had been betrayed by his best friend. However, it is hard to sympathise with the poor guy when he’s suing Zuckerberg. I mean, he’s got to know that he was dealing a double whammy to Zuckerberg, who was already facing a lawsuit case by the Winklevoss twins.
A dramatized making of history as it is playing out now, The Social Network is a movie of our generation that you simply cannot miss.
Director: David Fincher
Writer: Aaron Sorkin
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake
Running time: 120 minutes
Rating: NC-16 (for sexual content, drug and alcohol use and language)
Based on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich