What began as a simple way for college kids to connect to other students ended up becoming what we now know as Facebook. It’s become so huge in fact, that if it were a country, it would be third in population following China and India. In 2003, Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) was a nerd who wanted to be “in” at Harvard, so he knew he had to do something substantial to impress the clubs. With a hyper narrative only matched by the other players, the audience gets super-charged and quickly talked thru the codes and mechanics of setting up a website. Sound boring? Not by a long shot. And neither bored are his roommate, Eduardo (Andrew Garfield) or Napster inventer, Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake.) But the elite twins, Cameron and Tyler (both played by Armie Hammer) want to destroy him, believing Zuckerman stole their idea for a small website intended for in-between campuses. They told Zuckerberg that they needed a Program builder and he was the man. The insight of how they strategize a social network is brilliant. Afterall, they aren’t ‘hacking’ into anybody’s info. People are voluntarily offering their bios and opinions. Yet, for a movie about connecting people it feels so impersonal… how we got there and what we’ve since become. No longer do we pick up a telephone on Sunday mornings to call grandma. We just Facebook her. For anybody who knows anything about writing, Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing) has written thee screenplay of the year. With the same intensity he delivered in The West Wing we spin on the casts’ brilliant discoveries and sarcastic retorts. Director David Fincher (Zodiac) piece-meals a story without dragging us through a saved-for-the-end courtroom drama. Actor Jesse Eisenberg is well-cast with his innocent preppy look. All at once he makes you feel like he’s acutely paying attention yet at the same time only hearing the insane tickings of his mind’s next scheme. And we’re never quite sure if he betrayed his roommate or remained ethical…the movie’s one flaw. In the end, and all the way out of the theatre, we love to hate Zuckerberg, even sympathizing with him and his billion dollar outcome. That said, it’s not the feel-good film of the year, as it educates more than exhilarates, but it is… a work of art. Four Tiaras
