thefacebook.com – The Social Network

Courtesy of The Guardian

On January 2011, a mere 6 years after its official founding, Facebook reached 600 Million members. What originally begun as a small fry hack in a Harvard dorm room has changed the way humanity interacts on a unfathomable level. While the arguments for a second dot-com crash continue to float around the press, there is no doubt that the world’s most popular social network is here to stay.

Last night I caught The Social Network (2010) for the first time. Having missed it in theatres and having been pipped last week by The Kings Speech for Best Film at the 2011 Oscars, I was intrigued to see what the fuss was all about. A film about a website’s founding hardly screams “Watch Me”, but with critical acclaim lavished on Fincher’s piece since release, it was only apt I catch it.

It’s even more relevant considering the time I spend on, and around, the site a day. Working in PR and Marketing requires me to have my finger on the pulse at all times and that means Facebook constantly crops up in my RSS feeds.

Facewhat?

Anyway, the film. First worth noting is the fact that’s it’s obviously dramatised – the plot’s fundamentals are true – Facebook was founded from a stolen idea (which realistically wasn’t that unique anyway) and Zuckerberg is an extremely intelligent young man who’s drive and ambition propelled him to become the world’s youngest billionaire.

What we have is a portrait of Web 2.0 entrepreneurialism, a world where the angels provide venture capital and the demons throw litigation and lawsuits around like there’s no tomorrow. Acted to perfection by Eisenberg (who continues to show that he’s a force to be reckoned with), Garfield and Timberlake, it’s an astonishing portrayal.

Harvard life, the shift to bedroom coding, the belief that something can be created from nothing is unbelievably compelling. Tack-sharp dialogue ensures the film’s frenzied pace is sustained. Jumping back and forth between the creative mid noughties to the mediation rooms of millions of dollars, The Social Network has changed film making much like Facebook has changed how we talk to others.

In Motion

Sorkin rightfully deserves the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar and the score is phenomenal. Every single piece of music reflects the mood onscreen perfectly. It captures a dream in sound – a belief that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

I don’t doubt that Zuckerberg stepped on many toes with the creation of Facebook, but that’s not really the aim of the film. It’s about the fundamental shift in communication, with its characters, and with Facebook. It’s a humanistic film in every sense of the word.

Essential viewing and should have won the Oscar if it wasn’t for extremely stiff competition.

Tagged: #oneaday, eisenberg, Film, Garfield, marco fiori, Movie, One A Day, Review, Social Networking, The Social Network, Timberlake