The Social Network (review)

Brenda Song, Rooney Mara, Armie Hammer, Max Minghella

 Aaron Sorken’s terrific screenplay is told in flashback vignettes during various depositions where Mark Zuckerberg (the best performance yet by the always excellent Jesse Eisenberg) is refuting allegations and accusations about the origins and intellectual property of his website.

Spawned by a bad breakup, Zuckerberg unleashes his anger online (despite the protests of friend Eduardo Saverin played by Andrew Garfield), which results in a Harvard University version of “Hot or Not”.  This catches the attention of socially elite classmates, the Winklevoss twins (an amazing technical achievement with both brothers memorably played by Armie Hammer , who recruit Mark to help execute their university social website, “The Harvard Connection”.  Zuckerberg perfects this idea, and launches The Facebook, which becomes an almost immediate university and later, collegiate success.  Justin Timberlake plays Napster founder Sean Parker who recognizes the potential for Zuckerberg’s vision and woos him to expand the site beyond Saverin’s capabilities.

The film is essentially a series of betrayals, fame, envy, sex, hurt feelings and greed.

Facebook has changed social communication for the twenty-first century, yet as depicted in the film, the cost for Zuckerberg are the true friendships that were there from the beginning.

The Social Network is absorbing, unforgettable and tremendously entertaining and among the best films of the year.