From this comes a drunken
hate-filled blog and a pretty impressive program to compare the hotness
of all the girls on campus.
How this gets to the creation of Facebook
is a long and complex story, told by jumping forward in time
to
the various depositions for the lawsuits that (pretty much everyone who
ever knew) are bringing against Zuckerberg for screwing them over in
his climb to the top.
Thanks to a laser-sharp script by Aaron
Sorkin (The West Wing)
and direction by David Fincher (Seven,
Zodiac),
what could have been two hours of talking heads – they are computer
programmers doing business deals, after all - becomes a constantly
moving narrative powerhouse.
Everyone involved - right
down to Jesse Eisenberg (who usually comes off as a no-name brand
Michael
Cera) manages to lock himself down with a masterfully internal
performance - refuses to nail down the nature of the people that make
up this story, avoiding the black-and-white morality tale trap The Social Network
could have so easily fallen into.
Mark Zuckerberg could be a scheming prick,
or could he be just be a young man in over his head?
He could be driven by the need for
acceptance, but then why does he push everyone away?
He is surrounded by real-life colourful
characters like the twin
blond rowing stars who create a pre-facebook site that Zuckerberg works
for without doing any actual work (both played by Armie Hammer) and the
somewhat paranoid inventor of Napster (Justin Timberlake in an
excellent performance).
Layered on top of that is a
questioning look at what it is people actually want from the internet.
On top of that, there is a lot of parties.
And on top of that are a lot
of great rapid-fire lines that make, what is at its heart a movie about
computer programming and lawsuits, a whole lot more fun than it should
be.
The
Social Network is smart, it is funny, it is complex and
it’ll make you
think - like the internet itself - if you don't get on board with this
one you'll be left behind.
DVD Special Features
As it's now an Oscar winner, the DVD release
was always going to be jam packed full of awesome. And it bloody is! So
much so that a new Special Edition has been released since the initial
DVD release! Included here is an Audio Commentary with David Fincher, Audio
Commentary with Writer Aaron Sorkin & The Cast. There
is the feature length doco "How Did They Ever Make a Movie of
Facebook?", as well as a look at Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter and Ren Klyce
on Post, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and David Fincher on the Score. There
is a bounty of other stuff... all of it pretty damn interesting. Which,
can we just say, is a rarity in the world of DVD Special Features.
Conclusion - Movie: 90% Extras: 90%
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