When VH1 introduced I Love The 90s (and I Love the New Millenium), two nostalgic clip shows harkening back to the decade that had just ended, and the one we were still living in, it was too soon. And just like the cheaply produced sequels to I Love the 70s and I Love the 80s, a movie about Facebook, released during a time when the social networking site is still such a huge force in our lives, seems too soon. In fact, Facebook is still a growing force in our lives, and the site’s actual purpose and place in modern life is still undecided. Even in the midst of all the privacy issues and legal battles, the website continues to digitize our human experience.
The Social Network, adapted from Ben Mezrich’s 2009 bookThe Accidental Billionaires, is not about the ever-growing role technology, more specifically social technology, plays in our lives. Sure, the film touches on the game-changing excitement of Facebook, but the real story is not in Mark Zuckerberg’s shady means of selling our personal information, or the subtle changes to our Newsfeeds that we bemoan for two weeks until we forget the old design. Instead, the film, written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher, follows Zuckerberg and the two parties that sued him, fellow Harvard classmates and rival social network founders, Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra (currently a member of the class of 2012 in Kellogg School of Management and Northwestern School of Law), and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin.
Despite being billed as a dark and dramatic tale of power and the struggles that come with it, The Social Network is surprisingly funny, and features a wonderful, nuanced cast. Jesse Eisenberg, who plays Zuckerberg, nails the role of a brilliant outsider, ruthlessly looking for a way in. The role comes easily to Eisenberg, and whether that is due to the actor’s skill, or mere casting brilliance is unclear. But Justin Timberlake, who plays Sean Parker, co-founder of fellow controversial internet sensation Napster, truly steals the show. Parker’s role in Facebook is left cloudy in the film, settling somewhere between networking consultant and party instigator, but Timberlake creates a character full of megalomaniacal charm, commanding service at chic restaurants and snorting Cocaine off of interns. One scene in a nightclub, which casts harsh light on Timberlake, even makes him look terrifying.
But the film is also a college movie. Hackers they may be, the founders of Facebook are surrounded by alcohol, constantly drinking beers and coding scripts drunk. The movie might as well be a two hour advertisement for Harvard, showcasing the university’s wood and stone and heritage. A somewhat incongruous scene of a rowing competition is the biggest visual treat of the film though, and alone makes the film worth seeing.
Yet the film shies away from any negative aspects of Facebook itself. While the implications of posting personal information on the internet is briefly touched upon in the beginning of the film, it really doesn’t mention cyber-bullying, or the culture of Too Much Information that has developed because of Facebook, affecting young people and [shudder] their parents.
In the end, The Social Network is a strangely fantastic film. Is it too soon for a Facebook movie? Yes. Did Sorkin and Fincher, along with Eisenberg and Timberlake create a masterful film that should’ve come out a decade from now? Also, yes.