 |
Best pals Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), left, and Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) engage in legal disputes over the creation of Facebook in David Fincher’s “The Social Network.” |
David Fincher’s superbly wrought “The Social Network” robustly chronicles the messy birth of that cultural, economic, political and sexual game-changer called Facebook, and does it with style, wit and invention.
The humor snaps.
The dialogue crackles.
The characters pop.
From the opening scene a simple exchange between two Harvard University students we can tell we’re in the hands of a master storyteller.
We instantly see that hotshot computer intellect Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) thinks fast, but talks even faster, and that he possesses zero skills when it comes to women, specifically his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend Erica (Rooney Mara).
From this smart and energized introduction, “The Social Network” speed-skates along on Aaron Sorkin’s combustible script, fueled by clever wordplay, rapier insults and lightning-quick retorts that don’t exist in the non-movie universe.
Yet, Fincher keeps his characters firmly grounded in his surprisingly restrained motion picture that bears little of the flamboyant visual gimmicks of his “Fight Club,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Panic Room.”
“The Social Network” defies convention by splitting the role of protagonist between Zuckerberg and his fellow Harvardite Eduardo Saverin (future “Spider-Man” Andrew Garfield), his financially well-endowed friend who agrees to help Zuckerberg launch a site called “The Facebook.” (Read more…)